February 2, 2019 

Professor Thomas Collins 
City College of New York 
160 Convent Ave, New York, NY 10031  

 

Dear Professor Collins:  

 

My name is Mohammed Islam and this is my second semester in college. I was born and raised in Queens, New York. I grew up in a family of five with my Mom, Dad, and two older sisters. Being the youngest in the family had its benefits. According to my sisters, I had it easy and my parents were more lenient to me. However, being the youngest also had its drawbacks. I sometimes felt like my family wouldn’t take me seriously or like I didn’t have a say in anything. Luckily that changed over time.   

 

A talent that I have that stands out is leadership. Since I was a young child, I always had the role of leading my friends. I would always be in charge of making plans and bringing people together.  My leadership skills goes beyond just my friend circle. I currently work at Gap Inc. as a sales associate. I have gotten recognition for my outstanding leadership efforts and earned employee of the month in November 2018. 

 

I am currently in the Grove School of Engineering and majoring in mechanical engineering. However, I am contemplating switching to electrical engineering. I chose to come study at City College due to their good reputation and because I wanted to stay in the city. This career path I chose was heavily influenced by the years I spent in Aviation high school where I studied as student flight mechanic and worked on aircraft engines and components. This taught me a lot about the mechanical aspects of machines and gave me a sneak peak of what working in that field feels like. Working as a student mechanic and learning how to maintain an aircraft was fun but I was more interested in the production and engineering aspect. That is why I chose to take this career path.  

 

In the future I would like to work as an engineer in the aerospace industry but I am also open to work with other companies in New York City such as MTA or Con Edison. I would like to stay in New York City and hopefully get married and raise a family here as well.  

 

If I were to work in the aerospace industry, one challenge I would like to be involved in is to further enhance affordability for flights. I would like to explore new ways to reduce weight on aircrafts and increase effectivity. I would like to look into different materials and structures that are lighter and still reliable.  

 

I also am a car enthusiast. I have interests in one day building my own car. I started driving when I was 16 years old. 

 

I am very interested in this writing for engineers class because it is not a traditional English class that I’m used to. I expect to learn how to communicate effectively in the work environment as an engineer. This class is probably the most practical class I have had. I am looking forward to taking this class and preparing myself for the work world.  

Best regards, 

Mohammed Islam