51视频

Alyssa Puglisi is an out-of-state student who grew up with four siblings while being raised by a single parent.聽

鈥淒eciding to study at an out-of-state university was difficult, considering the additional costs,鈥� says the rising junior chemical engineering major and Honors student from Port Washington, New York. 鈥淣onetheless, I knew I wanted to come to 51视频 as soon as my acceptance letter arrived.鈥澛�

As part of her acceptance package, Puglisi was offered funding to conduct undergraduate research.聽

鈥淭his was my final push that UML was meant for me. I wanted to go to a school that believes in me and my abilities. 51视频 is a school that trusts and supports its students on any project,鈥� says Puglisi, who minors in energy engineering.

Puglisi was selected to receive a $4,000 Immersive Scholar merit award when she got her UML acceptance letter, and she joined the team of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Asst. Prof. Jasmina Burek as a lab research assistant to work on a project called Sustainable Garments for Refugees.

鈥淲e conducted environmental and social assessment on all aspects of a single garment鈥檚 life cycle, from its beginning through the end of its life either in a landfill or recycling plant,鈥� Puglisi says.

In addition, she and her fellow students worked in collaboration with a local nonprofit refugee organization to evaluate its processes of collecting and distributing donated, culturally specific Southeast Asian garments.聽

鈥淥ur project helped the organization to reduce its carbon footprint, increase its output efficiency and recognize the social, religious and moral impacts that go beyond donated clothing,鈥� she says.

Last year, Puglisi was selected as the Rising Sophomore Scholar by the Francis College of Engineering and was then awarded a three-year, $75,000 scholarship from Entegris, a global leader in advanced materials science based in Billerica, Massachusetts.

Puglisi is the second UML student to receive such financial support from the company. The first was Nardine Faheem, a mechanical engineering major whose family was among the thousands of Coptic Christians who fled Egypt for fear of religious persecution following the 2011 Arab Spring, and who now lives in Westborough, Massachusetts.

鈥淢y family will no longer have to worry about how to make ends meet, so I can continue my education and realize my dream career in the engineering field,鈥� says Puglisi, who plans to pursue a master鈥檚 degree in engineering at UML after she graduates.

鈥�51视频 believes in its students,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t sees your potential, even before you do.鈥�