Alejandro Cerda
Hello everyone, my name is Alejandro Cerda. I'm an alumn of the UC Santa Cruz Jack Baskin School of Engineer, class of 2011. Without any prior experience or schooling in engineering, I started off as an undeclared freshman pursuing computer engineering. Once I found out that circuits weren't my thing I decided to pursue my bachelors of science in computer science.
After spending five years at SoE, I learned that one of the best things Santa Cruz has to offer is the sense of community. SHPE was one of those places where I found a community of engineers who supported one another academically, professionally, and as familia. Through SHPE I was able to meet people with similar interests, interact with older students, and develop professional skills. It was through SHPE that I found my first internship at Lockheed Martin. I went on to intern for three summers and ultimately went to work full time after graduating from 2011 through 2014.
I served as SHPE President (08-09), Treasurer (09-10), and Advisor (10-11). Out of the many things that SHPE can offer (professional development, academic help, job search opportunities, conferences, company visits, tech talks, etc.) one of the most valuable to me personally was the leadership experience and my interactions with the people serving as a SHPE officer. While it can sometimes be difficult to balance school work and extracurriculars, the gains obtained from the investment in people out weight what I would've gained in front of a computer screen or reading a textbook. I always have believed that a community is only as good as its members. The more you give into the community the more you can get back. What I got back was not only support from fellow peers but the enhanced experience that came along with that.
I live and work in the Bay Area and have remained active with the SoE community since graduating. I currently serve as a Mentor for the MEP Alumni Mentorship program and often visit to speak to student orgs such as SHPE, SASE, or TBP. I also am a continuing volunteer judge for the MESA Day competitions that are held annually at SoE.
Feel free to reach out to me via email or connect with me on LinkedIn.
Favorite Memory/Activity in SHPE?
Well there were many...like the Poker Tournaments, the unofficial (but really official) video game night, meetings with popcorn...but I remember having lots of fun at one of our end of the year BBQ (carne asada and water balloon fights, what more could I ask for)
How did SHPE contribute to your success?
I can truthfully say that without SHPE I wouldn't be where I am today! A friend and past SHPE president (Eddie Hernandez) turned me on to this organization called Inroads Inc. They were the ones to help me get my internship at Lockheed Martin (which I held for 3 years) and ultimately led to my current full-time position as a Software Engineer. For people that know me now, they probably wouldn't describe me as shy but I was shy guy before SHPE came along and taught me the importance of having a voice in a community, the importance of networking, and the valuable skills of leadership. Not only did I open up, I became good at it. SHPE provided me the opportunity to grow professionally, academically, and ultimately as a person.
Any words of wisdom for incoming freshmen/transfer students?
Welcome to the Jack Baskin School of Engineering! There will be some good times to be had with friends, nightmares of exams to be scared about, and lots of junk food to be eaten in the labs. I encourage you to every once in a while to stick your head out of your dorm and out of the labs to branch out, get involved, and become an active part of your engineering community. You will quickly learn that we engineers take great pride in our areas of study. When I was president of our UCSC SHPE chapter, I would tell all the members every first meeting of the quarter: "A community is only as good as its members!" Work hard, have fun, and continue to give our engineering community a good name!