Yusef Ibrahim develops mentoring program for peers in electrical engineering technology

Yusef Ibrahim’s campus and community activities keep him very busy, but the fourth-year electrical and computer engineering technology (ECET) major has found a way to balance them all. In just the past year, he founded a peer mentoring program called Student Engineering Professionals (SEP), completed a co-op at General Motors in Flint, Mich., and returned as a teaching assistant for the College of Engineering Technology’s Introduction to Circuits course. 

He did all of this just after publishing another book of poetry and a series of videos to highlight concepts in different engineering technology courses.  And a little-known fact, Ibrahim retains a place on the national list of fastest Rubik’s cube solvers. Ibrahim, who is also an RIT performing arts scholar, talked about how his peer mentoring program was established and how his connections to the arts, teaching and technology are influencing his careers plans and those of his classmates.

What is the Student Engineering Professionals program? Who is involved and how it is conducted?

SEP is a new student-led mentoring program that pairs second and third-year students looking for co-ops with upper class peers with co-op experience. SEP focuses on the career side of things, because finding that first co-op can be difficult.

Our team is made of three mentors, and we work closely with the ECET department. This past semester we had seven mentees. I built it on a three-part idea with the first part a check-in. This is to form a personal connection with the mentee. Then it’s deadlines and details where we’d like them to accomplish tasks to better prepare them for career fair, managing coursework, or time management. This can include creating a portfolio website, remaking a resume, or creating a study plan. We try to cater it to individual needs. And the last part is reflection and intention. If you want to change, you have to know what you need to change first.  Reflection is about previous experience—what happened, what went well, what did not go as well as expected? And then you have to intend to make change.

Why is a program like this necessary?

I think it’s the cohesion of academics, career and social that really helps. Students have to find a balance between classes, campus jobs, extracurriculars all within the first year. If a student is unable to do that, the next year isn’t any easier. Classwork gets more difficult, and workload becomes more intensive. You could have circuit courses, a coding course, signal courses, or advanced math classes on top of your electives.  New housing arrangements or more responsibilities can affect the 2nd & 3rd year as well. With so many challenges piling up, SEP offers guidance, insight, and reassurance by connecting students with peers who have faced the same obstacles.

Why did you choose engineering technology?

I love analog circuits. It is my No. 1 passion. Anything closely associated with that I’ll be happy to do that in my career. During my second year, after I transferred into this college, I took Circuits 1, and I was exposed to a very different environment. We had one TA and one professor for a 16-person lab, and those first TAs were great role models for me. So, the next semester, I became a lecture TA.

Your website states, “An electrical engineer by choice, and a teacher by heart.” What does this mean for you?

Since I have been doing this, I’m crossing over to about 280 students who I have had the great opportunity to mentor or TA for. Being able to have an impact on other’s college experience provides so much joy.  In that short amount of time, my role has transcended from just a student position to a hobby, my passion, and hopefully my future vocation. Our majors have countless different job roles and titles, so it is very important to share information and experiences. The department has been more and more into encouraging this student-to-student experience—and I think it’s amazing. We can share experiences of classes, or co-ops; we can learn more about what we want to do and help other people. I’d also like to a professor in higher education. I’d love to do that. That would be my dream goal.