Keith Dixon

Engineering Futures Scholar

Mechanical engineering student, Keith Dixon, is working to turn his love of cars into a career.

“In high school I was really into cars, and I didn’t want to just be someone that worked on cars. I wanted to be someone that designed the cars, and made them and improved them.”

Dixon is an Engineering Futures scholar who is not only a rising sophomore, but also a rising Engineering Futures menor. In August he will be fulfilling the peer mentor responsibilities that come with the position, such as connecting other engineering students to the numerous resources and opportunities that the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering has to offer.

Dixon himself is involved in the Grand Challenge Scholars Program (GCSP) at ASU and plans to get involved in the Students Automotive Engineering (SAE) club on campus his sophomore year.

Off campus, Dixon likes to spend his time doing automotive maintenance- fixing tires, changing oil, etc.

When recounting his first-year experience, he said college exams were a challenge, but the biggest difficulty was adjusting to having a class only two days out of the week, rather than every day.

“You do a lot of self-learning in college,” Dixon said. “When I struggled with work, I’d do a lot of research on my own. And that would help build my knowledge of the course. So I learned a lot, struggling by myself.”

He advises other engineering students to not be afraid to reach out for help and use the tutoring center.

Dixon’s other take-away was the importance of connecting with other students. He considers himself an extrovert, a personality type he did not encounter a lot in the engineering program.

“Open up a little bit,” he advises other students. “Because a lot of people are in the same situation as you, as in being new to college, and the engineering field, and all the different classes. So reaching out to people and making friends is big.”

Dixon reached out to faculty and peers alike and found support in both.

Professor and assistant dean of engineering education at ASU, Tirupalavanam Ganesh, impacted Dixon the most. “He’s really there for the students and wants to see them succeed,” Dixon said. “He does everything he can to help them out. He wants to see us graduate as engineers and not switching majors.”

As the Fall approaches, Dixon is most excited for the SAE field work he plans to do.

“It’s got all the automotive aspects that I like … I’m ready to dive into the club and really get the most out of it.”

By Summer Sorg, Science and Technology Writer, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering
July 10, 2019