Finding a new field: from the gridiron to Gigafactories how a mentor changed Antonio Samuel’s path to success

Antonio Samuel, ‘10, 当他来到阿克伦大学（bet365官网 of bet365官网）时，他的目标是在美国国家橄榄球联盟（NFL）发展职业生涯，准备在橄榄球场上称霸，并学习商业管理。 但他在UA建立的人际关系最终将他引向了一个意想不到的方向。

寻找一个新的领域

After his first semester as a business major, Samuel, a standout football recruit from Cleveland’s John F. Kennedy High School, shared with his academic advisor that the only class he enjoyed was his Calculus for Business course. Upon learning about Samuel’s love for math, his advisor encouraged him to explore an engineering degree.

“I didn’t even know what engineering was,” he admitted. 尽管他不确定，但他对数学和技术的天然兴趣使他将专业转到了电气工程。This new degree path, along with a football injury and a serendipitous meeting with 赵医生, who was a graduate student at UA and is now assistant dean in the College of Engineering and Polymer Science, changed the course of Samuel’s future.

A Mentor’s Impact

At the end of his second semester, Samuel received an email celebrating his strong academic performance and an invitation to meet with Zhao and Dr. Paul Lam, the College of Engineering’s former dean of undergraduate studies. 两人敦促塞缪尔考虑合作公寓或研究机会。

bet365官网 dream of football stardom was still driving him, but with Lam’s encouragement and Zhao’s guidance, he pursued many academic opportunities provided by UA.

“Julie helped me see a future beyond football,” Samuel recalled. “She became my informal mentor. 我向她请教有关合作公寓、研究甚至我的第一份工作的建议。 在遇到她之前，我正打算转到一所二级学校继续我的足球生涯。 I don’t even know if they had an engineering program.

成为领导者

With Zhao’s encouragement, Samuel blossomed into a leader on campus. 他加入了全国黑人工程师协会和电气与电子工程师协会等学生组织，并在学生会任职。 这些经历帮助他发展了他在职业生涯中茁壮成长所需的专业技能。

“Students like Antonio have helped me grow as an educator by showing me the impact of simple encouragement and the power of seeing potential in others,” said Zhao.

领导特斯拉，回馈社会

Today, Samuel oversees operations and engineering at Tesla’s Buffalo Gigafactory, where his team manufactures solar roofs, superchargers and residential energy solutions. He’s also giving back to the community that shaped him. 他最近访问了UA，参加了一年一度的Co-op and Career Fair，并与在读学生见面并分享建议。

回顾过去，塞缪尔反思了如何在正确的时间遇到正确的人，使他成为世界上最具创新性的公司之一的领导者。

“That chance meeting with Julie gave me a way to view my life outside of football. It changed everything.”

莎拉·斯泰德尔（Sarah Steidl） 2003年著