Missouri S&T’s first graduating class in 1874 consisted of three students: Gustavus A. Duncan, John H. Gill and John W. Pack. They earned degrees in civil engineering and mining engineering. Fast forward 150 years, and Missouri S&T’s 150th class in 2024 includes over 1,100 graduates. Some of today’s graduates will also enter careers in civil engineering or mining engineering, while several are earning degrees in fields never dreamt of in the 1800s – like computer engineering or information science and technology. Meet a few members of our latest class and read about their plans.

Lana Dizdarevic: Hands-on experience

Hometown: St. Louis
Degree: Environmental Engineering
Student activities: President of Ceramic Artists of S&T (CAST)
Internships: Black and Veatch and Bartlett & West
Plans: Work as a project engineer for Bartlett & West in St. Louis and study environmental engineering in graduate school at S&T

Having several types of engineering programs to choose from drew Lana Dizdarevic to S&T. As she learned more about the various fields, she decided environmental engineering was the best fit for her. Now she is looking forward to working as an engineer in her hometown.

“A lot of the labs that came along with the classes really helped me prepare for my new job,” she says. “The labs would focus on programs such as AutoCAD or Bluebeam, which I discovered were a big part of my internships, so I was very happy to have already had some knowledge in those areas.”

Mohamed Elshiekh: Dream job awaits

Hometown: Rolla, Missouri
Degree: Engineering Management
Student activities: Member and leader of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and chair of NSBE’s Pre-College Initiative
Internships: Microsoft, Tesla, Strategic Sourcing, RippleMatch and Cummins
Plans: Work as an operations program manager for Microsoft in Redmond, Washington

Competing against 50 other student chapters, Missouri S&T’s National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) student group was named “Chapter of the Year” in 2023 and 2024. Mohamed Elshiekh is proud of the chapter and fellow members.

“Missouri S&T offers a variety of on-campus organizations that develop leadership skills,” he says. I personally took advantage of joining NSBE, where I served in five different executive board positions. These roles helped shape me into the leader I am today and enabled me to land my dream job. It all began with choosing Missouri S&T.”

Nolan Hall: Career-ready graduate

Hometown: Imperial, Missouri
Degree: Information science and technology
Student involvement: Member of Student Union Board, assistant technical director at Leach Theatre and campus service officer (CSO) team lead for University Police
Plans: Work as an incident response analyst for Centene in Clayton, Missouri

Nolan Hall grew up familiar with Missouri S&T. After all, his aunt, Dr. Sandra Magnus, is a well known Miner and occasionally visits Rolla to meet with students interested in STEM careers.

Interested in cybersecurity more than outer space, Hall knew S&T would provide a strong academic foundation and career opportunities.

“I was able to prepare for my job by getting involved on campus and having the opportunities to take on leadership positions in my organizations and on-campus jobs,” he says. “I was also able to take advantage of the resources provided by COER such as the career fair and resume review.”

Jennifer Onoh: ‘Best engineer I can be’

Hometown: Branson, Missouri
Degree: Mechanical Engineering
Student activities: Ceramic Artists of S&T (CAST), the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and Black Gems
Internship: Honeywell FM&T
Plans: Work as a mechanical engineer with Honeywell FM&T in Kansas City, Missouri, and start graduate studies in Spring 2025

When researching colleges as a high school student, Jennifer Onoh says S&T was the best choice for the engineering career she wanted to pursue. With in-state tuition and scholarships, S&T also provided her with the best financial aid package.

“S&T taught me how to expand my skills, learn, think critically, and create on my own,” she says. “The communities I’ve experienced at S&T, specifically NSBE, Black Gems and CAST, helped shape me as an individual and build friendships that I know I’ll have for the rest of my life. The connections I’ve made, and the opportunities offered at S&T started my career and helped me become the best engineer I can be.”

Maxwell Ryan: Rove if you want to

Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Degree: Electrical engineering
Student activities: Member and leader of S&T’s Mars Rover Student Design Team
Plans: Work as an electrical engineer for Caterpillar Inc. in Peoria, Illinois

A Chicago native, Maxwell Ryan was first introduced to Missouri S&T via his mailbox.

“S&T was my first piece of college mail and when I took a tour, I absolutely loved how passionate everyone was about what they were working on,” he says. I decided to attend S&T because of the people.”

Ryan soon found a project and student design team that he was passionate about – the Mars Rover Design Team. In 2022, the team and their rover, named Prometheus, finished third in the international University Rover Challenge.