Rachel Kolb | Michigan Tech | 'Fall 2016 UIF Class

Rachel is currently in her third year at Michigan Technological University studying Mechanical Engineering. She is involved with the Velovations Bike Design Enterprise where she is pursuing her passion of biking within the classroom. She has also gotten experience from her two previous internships --one at Oshkosh Corporation where she worked on the Global Fluid Power Team and an internship at Caterpillar Inc. where she worked on the Motor Grader Cost and Quality team. From each internship she took away valuable skills that not only pertain to her education, but to her growth as an individual as well.

Rachel is seen as a leader both on campus and off. Over her last two years on campus, Rachel has held six executive board positions, two of which have placed her in the role of president of a student organization. She has also served as a representative on two advisory boards for the Mechanical Engineering department as well as for the honors college. In the spring of 2016, she was named as the Rising Star of the Year at the Michigan Tech Student Leadership Awards.

Rachel’s biggest motivation to be a leader is knowing she impacted someone’s life in one way or another. Whether it was because she made them laugh when she fell down the stairs when presenting or if she gave them resume advice that helped them land a job, she is looking to touch as many people as she can.

Her family has been supporting Rachel and guiding her whole life. While she doesn’t talk much about her accomplishments, her family would be happy to share them for her. Her parents taught her the value of hard work and seeing her father’s business grow out of her backyard taught her that the amount of work you put into something correlates to the value you get out of it.

In contrast to hard work, comes play. Rachel enjoys spending time outdoors camping, biking, and exploring.