Achieving her goals is something Mishal Raza, a spring 2020 transfer student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, knows a lot about. At just 21-years-old, Raza has already achieved many of her goals, including climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, learning to speak five languages and completing an Associates of Arts in Mechanical Engineering with honors and distinction from Broward College, Florida. Last spring, she began tackling one more goal on that list: pursuing a B.S. in Mechanical and Energy Engineering and a minor in mathematics from UNT.

“I have always been of the belief that focused classrooms and targeted knowledge transfer are the best way to promote effective learning. UNT’s smaller, interactive classrooms, focused education, established curriculum and hands-on training were reasons that I decided to choose UNT,” said Raza.

While education and lifelong learning are integral parts to Raza’s goals, she also was intrigued by UNT’s variety of extracurricular opportunities, including clubs, societies and projects. Her interest prompted her to become a member of multiple student organizations including the UNT Robotics Club, ASME and SWE. As part of ASME, she was able to participate in drone research and a design project. As an ambassador for SWE, she helped motivate and engage K-12 students in STEM activities through STEM@thePark.

Raza also was eager to expand her knowledge in energy engineering and chose to audit Hassan Qandil’s, a lecturer in mechanical engineering, renewable energy class her first semester at UNT.

“Mishal came to my senior renewable energy class last spring, and she attended all lectures and took all exams just for the sake of gaining more knowledge and out of being super interested in renewable energy,” said Qandil. “She would have made an easy A in the class if she was actually enrolled. Mishal has always shown an outstanding performance in the class, great engagement never misses a lecture, aces all homework and tests.”

Raza dreams of becoming an engineer in the medical technology and robotics field and said family and community are what motivate and push her to accomplishing her goals.

“I come from a family of doctors and engineers who have dedicated their lives to improving the healthcare system in service of the underprivileged and those in need. I take inspiration from my family and want to give back to the community by reducing human pain,” said Raza. “I take pride in all of these experiences but one achievement triumphs all: performing at an institution like UNT. Being away from my loving mother and father, while painful, fuels my passion and motivates me to do better every day.”

“If you want to be part of an engaging engineering program, then UNT is the place to be. The ME program is challenging but full of excitement. Study hard, get involved and make friends. Aim for excellence; take every day as an opportunity to learn something new and have fun,” said Raza.