“I’m going to be an aerospace engineer,” says Ben. “My main goal is to work on building and designing satellites or spacecraft.” Ben has found that Hiram College is the place that will give him the experience needed to reach these goals. Because of the College’s dual-degree program in engineering, Ben will study physics at Hiram for three years before enrolling at the James McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. There, he will go on to earn a second bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.

Ben has also found that his classes are great for someone who likes to build things and get hands on with today’s tools. “My favorite class sounds so uninteresting. It’s Use of Test and Measurement Equipment,” he says. “But it was different from any other class in that it taught me how to use the 3-D printer. I also learned how to solder wires.”

In addition to the dual-degree program in engineering, Ben chose Hiram for a few other reasons: “The campus is very beautiful, and I get to play volleyball here, which isn’t offered at a lot of schools for men.” He had the chance to play in the 2021 NCAA Division III Men’s Volleyball Tournament, a rare feat for an athletics program which was only in its fourth year. “The experience itself was once in a lifetime,” says Ben.