Alumna of the Month - Patricia Wendy - Indonesia

Patricia Wendy, the recipient of the 2019 President's Award, will be attending Stanford University this fall to pursue a Master's in Structural Engineering.

My name is Patricia Wendy and I am an international student from Indonesia. I came to Green River in 2017, where I spent 2 years taking engineering courses to earn an Associate in Science degree before applying to several universities as a Civil Engineering major. I transferred to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2019 and graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science degree. After graduation, I moved to New York to work as a Geotechnical Engineer for an engineering consulting company.

As a fresh graduate, I spent a lot of time out in the field inspecting soil investigation. While I enjoy the dynamic nature of fieldwork, I decided I wanted to study Structural Engineering instead and go back to graduate school. This year, I am fortunate to receive admissions from three amazing universities – one of them being Stanford University. I will be enrolling in their MS in Structural Engineering program this coming fall, with hopes of coming back to the industry as a structural engineer after I graduate.

How did your education at Green River College prepare you to transfer to a top graduate school?

Green River provided me with a great support system that tremendously helped me get adjusted to life in the US. From the academic side, some of the professors I met during my time in Green River remain my favorite ones, both in terms of their teaching methods and their willingness to help students. The smaller class sizes also helped me in building up the courage to actively engage in class discussions and make the best out of my time in Green River.

I am also grateful to the International Programs advisors who were extremely helpful throughout my college application process that I managed to get several admissions, including one from Illinois. The IP team provided resources in making sure that I know which classes I must take and which opportunities are available for me to be more active on campus.

From the social side, the International Student Success program was a fun and interactive way of getting to know the culture in the US as well as the city of Auburn. I made friends from the program that helped ease my transition from being far from home. In addition to the ISS program, Green River has an active campus life – with numerous student organizations that provided me with leadership opportunities to simultaneously serve the community and meet like-minded students.

Because of all these reasons, I had a solid foundation in preparing for my studies at Illinois. I knew what I had to do once I enrolled, and I made the best out of my time at Illinois. From there, I was able to secure a full-time job that I love, and now admission to a school that I have always wanted to go to. While it has been almost three years since I left Green River, the people I met and the things I learned during my time there have shaped me to be the person that I am now. I am thankful to have experienced an incredible two years at Green River.

What kind of advice would you give a GRC student who dreams of getting into a top university?

I believe that the best advice I can give to a Green River student is to actively seek out resources and opportunities. If you need academic help, there are learning centers and people that can help. If you need immigration or transfer help, there are advisors who are knowledgeable and can point you in the right direction. If you want to widen your social circle, there are tons of student organizations that provide leadership and service opportunities. Green River has a lot of opportunities for you to become successful academically and socially, but you must constantly seek them out. I have found that by engaging myself with my instructors, advisors, and fellow peers, I was able to grow as a student and be more prepared in transitioning to life as a university student.