Cami Amein: Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduating Student Q&A

Cami Amein
BS, Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

What first inspired you to study engineering?

I didn’t know I wanted to be an engineer until my junior year of high school. I went to a performing arts school for television and film production and always thought I would have a career in the arts. However, in junior year I realized I was much more interested in the technical side of movie-making and engineers are the ones that make that happen! So I decided to pursue engineering and it turned out to be a great fit. 

What was a highlight of your time at USC? 

Very early on at USC (in fact, my first semester in college) I often went to Professor Gupta’s office hours with some of my friends. At the time he was the chair of our department and a very busy man, but he was happy to sit with us and give fantastic life advice for hours. One of these times we were complaining about how hard or boring some homework was and I remember him saying that it’s only boring because we haven’t worked on it enough and the more we learn about something the more interesting it becomes. Then Diane, our department’s director of student services, walked in and offered us cookies, so we all sat there and ate cookies and laughed. It was such a beautiful interaction and it is one of my fondest memories at USC. 

Are there any extracurricular activities or organizations you have been part of during your studies? 

I liked having campus jobs like orientation advisor or Viterbi student ambassador more than being in organizations. I did, however, have two major extracurriculars: dancing and being a member of IEEE@USC.  I am passionate about dance, which is why I decided to take up a dance minor. I consider that to be a huge part of my extracurricular work, even if it is technically still school, mostly because I have found a great community of other dance minors. I loved being a part of IEEE, the professional organization for electrical and computer engineering majors. Most of my closest friends are also involved in it and we get to work on great events together celebrating our major. My favorite IEEE memory was getting to host different elementary and middle schools to teach them about circuits and coding and hopefully inspire them to like electrical engineering. 

What are your plans after graduation?

After I graduate I am actually coming right back to USC. I will be joining the Progressive Degree Program, meaning I will finish up my master’s in electrical and computer engineering next year in the spring of 2022. In the meantime, I am going to be living in Seattle as an intern for an R&D firm called ARiA. I love USC and especially love my department, so I am very excited I get to continue as a student. 

What will you miss most about USC?

I am going to miss the people. The students are some of the coolest people I have ever met, and love being surrounded by people with such diverse interests. It is going to be hard to not have the constant support system of my department as well. I already miss all the faculty and staff that I don’t get to see regularly now. They are truly some of the kindest and smartest people I know, so leaving USC will be difficult! 

Published on May 19th, 2021

Last updated on May 19th, 2021