Alysha Vipushan, BSME’22 had made up her mind. She was set to attend the University of Windsor in her native Canada. But when LTU women’s volleyball coach Ed Ruhl took notice of her skills at a high school tournament, he encouraged her to think about playing volleyball at LTU.

After a campus tour led by one of the team’s players, she was impressed with LTU’s personalized atmosphere; she was also eager to play a sport she loved at the college level, which she hadn’t planned on doing at the other school.

LTU’s reputation as a great place to study engineering – along with the University’s Southfield location – cemented her decision to enroll. “It was the perfect balance. I was far enough away from home to live on campus but close enough for an easy visit with my parents,” Alysha says.

Considering her workforce-readiness by the time she graduated last December it was the right decision.

“Volleyball taught me a lot of very important skills that translate directly into my work life and everyday life,” says Alysha. Balancing the life of an athlete with LTU’s STEM-focused academics strengthened her time management, communication, and people skills, and “gave me the chance to adapt to stressful situations.”

It wasn’t all volleyball for Alysha, though. She was also a member of Blue Devil Motorsports’ Aero Design team and considers her senior project a highlight, particularly the bond the team developed during a 22-hour drive to Texas – and their overall 5th place finish. “That project taught me so much about working with different people, applying different engineering skills, and meeting tight deadlines.”

The international flavor of the event wasn’t so bad, either. “I made friends from South Korea, Poland, India, all over North America, including Canada and the U.S.,” Alysha says. “I love meeting new people. Being pushed out of my comfort zone was a great experience.”

Unfortunately, Alysha also experienced the death of her father her senior year but she was touched by the support from faculty and staff. Coach Ruhl, her professors, the dean of students and even the president of LTU told her to take all the time she needed. And when she returned her classmates helped her catch up.

“It was a very challenging time and LTU supported me very well,” Alysha says. “When I returned it was the middle of volleyball season and my team was very supportive so it really showed me the importance of the LTU family. When my dad left, it was like he knew I had the full support of the University around me in that moment.”

He also loved LTU and would be very proud that Alysha made the most of her scholarship while also working on-campus jobs at the field house and as a social media assistant for the College of Engineering. Like so many Blue Devils, she gained hands-on experience in her field through two separate internships.

The second internship with auto supplier Mahle turned into a full-time position after she graduated. Today, Alysha works as a product engineer in power train cooling for Mahle and credits the impact of LTU’s theory and practice education for being able to apply what she learned in school to her field.

She also sees the practical advantage of the challenging workloads students typically encounter in her engineering program. “When you transition to the workplace you have multiple assignments with various deadlines so it’s not as overwhelming as it otherwise might be.”

Author: Pam Houghton