Maria Sopcinski
Hello CAB! Community!
I am excited to share with you all a little bit about me, especially for those I have yet to connect with in person! Earlier this spring, I finished my third year in the Catch a Break! program and at the University of Minnesota. At the beginning of my freshman year, I entered the College of Biological Sciences as a Biology major, with what I thought was a set-instone plan of attending medical school. After feeling unhappy with what I was doing, I decided to do some soul searching, and found a career path that I am more than passionate about! This past year, I added a second major of Speech Language Hearing Sciences, with a post graduate plan of obtaining my Master’s in Speech Language Pathology. Because of this added major, I have had to add a fifth year of undergraduate study, which, although was not my ideal plan, is so worth it because I am studying something I love. However, this was definitely a really scary experience for me, and caused a lot of uncertainty and anxiety. If any of you are thinking of switching majors and are feeling uneasy, please reach out to me so we can talk!
Throughout my remaining two years of undergraduate studies, I plan to continue being involved in my community, especially the special needs community in Minnesota. I am involved in the Special Olympics club at UMN, where I have participated in different activities including the Polar Plunge and intramural sports. Additionally, I spend a lot of time volunteering for the Down Syndrome Association of Minnesota, as I have a cousin with Down Syndrome. These two areas of my life are some of the most important, and I’m always willing to talk about them, especially for those of you at UMN who would be interested in joining!
In my free time, I love spending time with my family and friends, cooking, playing sports, and just being active and outdoors in general. I also began reading a lot more over the past year during the pandemic and reignited my passion for books! I keep a list on my phone of books I’ve read, and how I feel about them- I’ve found this is a great way to keep track of what I like, share recommendations, and to set reading goals for myself! Additionally, I spend a lot of time with my dogs; I have a 10-year-old miniature poodle, and a 5-year-old terrier mix that only has three legs, they are my best friends!
The CAB! Program has been a truly life changing experience for me. Besides relieving the pressures of undergraduate finances, I have made new connections with many of you that I know will extend well beyond my undergraduate years. A special thanks to Robin and Jeff, my mentors, for providing me with such great support over the years and giving me such good advice when I need it, as well as Holly and Carl, who are two of the most special people I have ever met. I can’t wait to meet more of you as we are able to see each other in person again!
Best,
Maria Sopcinski
Ammar Dameh
Hello everyone
My name is Ammar Dameh and this will be my second school year as a member of the CAB! Program. I am an incoming sophomore at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering along with minors in statistics and business management. I have gotten ahead on my classes through programs such as PSEO and taking AP courses throughout high school which grants me some wiggle room to change things around if I ever have a change of heart in what I want to pursue. With the variety of programs and sub-plans available in those programs to choose from, it can be overwhelming at times to commit to one plan when there are so many great opportunities out there. Catch a Break! has allowed me to freely explore and experiment with chances to immerse myself in what I am interested in during my freshman year, which was surprisingly easy to do, considering the COVID situation. I currently have a position as a biomedical research assistant in the Kyba Lab at the Lillehei Heart Institute on the U of M campus which has helped me a lot with getting involved with things on campus. The focus of my work in the lab is around FSHD (Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy), a degenerative muscle condition, which is very on par with what my interests are in and what I hoped to get into prior to college.
In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, along with remaining very active. I play a lot of basketball and over the lockdown, I developed a serious passion for weightlifting and working out in general. I find it to be a great way to stay healthy and fit along with being an outlet to reduce my stress and anxiety levels, which is something that I had never really thought about before. With all the various stressors in my life, keeping myself mentally sharp has proven to help me a lot with keeping me disciplined in many aspects of my life. I love the outdoors and love to go exploring with my friends regardless of the season, and it is very interesting to see how drastically a place can change when there is no snow on the ground and when there is. I currently spend my summer days working at a youth summer camp and at a hardware store which keeps me busy. Life has returned to basically normal for me and I am very grateful for this.
This program, which has provided me with great mentors along with great opportunities, has helped a lot with making this time in my life a very positive one. I don’t stress about the future as much as I used to and I enjoy my time throughout this period in my life more than I thought I would. I want to thank Holly and Carl for the great work that they have done and for providing such a great opportunity to myself and all my peers in this program. I am always looking for more friends and would love for anyone with similar interests or goals (or not) to reach out to me. Stay safe everyone!
Vu Phan
My name is Vu Phan, and I am a 2018 Catch A Break! graduate. I graduated from University of Minnesota: Twin Cities with a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering and a minor in Management.
After graduation, I started working for 3M in their Global Headquarters in Maplewood as a Division Engineer. My duties were designing and implementing world-class quality and inspection systems for multiple 3M Business Divisions. Outside of work, I volunteered as a mentor in the 3M STEP program, which provides opportunities for high school students in the St Paul area to participate in an internship program over the summer and learn to prepare for their career as a scientist or an engineer. I have also continued mentoring the Como Park Senior High School FIRST Robotics team since 2014.
Besides my regular job, I have been a member of the Minnesota National Guard since 2013. I was appointed as a commissioned officer in 2019 and have served at the 34th Infantry Division Headquarter as a Network Operation Officer ever since. During the COVID pandemic and the riots in 2020, I deployed to support different missions around the Minneapolis metro area. I was proud to help protect these communities and ensure everyone can exercise their rights safely.
As of now, I am working at Eaton Corporation as a Senior System Engineer. My duties include designing algorithms, building and implementing Industrial Internet of Things systems for the Filtration Division. I am also pursuing my Master’s in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado – Boulder and hopefully an MBA/Ph.D. in the future. I currently reside in Eagan with my fiancé, Caitlin, and we love playing tennis, traveling, and cooking together in our free time.
My bits of advice for the incoming scholars are to network and pursue things relevant to your career outside of the classroom. Leverage the CAB! networks and mentorship program that Holly and Carl have created and put in the time to ask questions and plan for your post-college career. Also, don’t forget to have fun (maybe not too much fun) in college and give back to your communities in whichever ways you can. Feel free to reach out to me if you want to chat or have any questions regarding life/career/anything. I look forward to seeing all of you at the next event!
Ella Halverson
My name is Ella Halverson, and I graduated from the University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management in May 2020. I joined the CAB! program in 2016. I remember telling the CAB!Interview Panel about my passion for dentistry and desire to become a dentist. Now, I am a technology analyst. After three information technology internships, a semester studying in Milan, and several years of Carlson classes, I am so thankful that I changed majors and career paths. It was not an easy decision, but I had support and guidance from my CAB! mentors, family, and friends.
After graduation, I worked with Catch A Break! to design and create a scholar database. It was a wonderful opportunity to apply the system implementation skills I learned in school while working with an organization that had transformed and enhanced my college experience. In my current role, I help implement software systems to improve the efficiency of business processes. I’ve used a combination of computer science skills, project management methodologies, and finance knowledge throughout each project. To those of you who are new to the CAB! program, I recommend embracing all group events and mentor meetings offered. This organization is comprised of supportive and knowledgeable people who want to help you succeed. Thank you!
