Patrick Early didn't have to look far when deciding to come to Mason. The Reston native graduates Thursday with an electrical engineering degree from the Volgenau School of Engineering.
"I heard from friends who either attended or had relatives that attended Mason and spoke very highly of the university," he says. The fact that his credits from Northern Virginia Community College transferred made it an ideal choice, he adds.
His most memorable moment was participating in the first Applied Information Technology vs. Electrical and Computer Engineering STEM Senior Design Showdown competition.
"My group and I worked especially hard to complete our project and it was truly fulfilling being able to show what all we accomplished and win first prize," he says.
He has a key piece of advice for students: "Go to class! One of the easiest ways to determine if you'll pass a class is if you attend it, and the easiest way to graduate college is to pass your classes."
After graduation he plans to start a career in engineering, as well as spend more time with family and friends. And in his free time?
"Building things that are unnecessarily complicated because I'm an engineer, and it can be done."
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