Nathan Sebsibie, a senior from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, chose to major in mechanical engineering in order to find solutions to problems in his home country.

“I have always wondered how I can tackle many issues in my home country, and I have believed tech is a huge solution,” said Sebsibie. “Mechanical engineering being a vastly broad topic, I believe this is one way I can be a multi-dimensional asset to my people.”

Sebsibie began putting his mechanical engineering skillsets in action his freshman year as a design intern at Vanguard Technologies in Ethiopia. He worked with other design engineers to research and identify the right location for a new Gypsum Power Production Line.

“I had the opportunity to travel around my country while doing geographical research to identify the ideal location for the Gypsum Production Plant. Ethiopia is a developing country and there is a high need for construction products. There is an abundant supply of the gypsum ore in the country and production of this can assist the needs of the people.”

In addition to his internship at Vanguard, Sebsibie also served as a quality engineer intern at Andis Company. Here he assisted the Quality and Manufacturing Departments in continuous improvement and quality in production.

Sebsibie also makes a powerful impact in the MSOE community as a CREATE Student Fellow and former president of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). He also is on MSOE’s club soccer team.

“I wanted to be a CREATE Student Fellow because I wanted to get involved within the campus and Milwaukee community by making a positive impact on the lives of others. I believe having my fingerprint in this is something to be proud of.”

This is Sebsibie’s third year as a CREATE Student Fellow. He’s looking forward to another year of helping the community and being an ambassador of the MSOE Mindset.

“I use the MSOE Mindset in many ways. I have been a responsible professional in my previous jobs and internship, I have demonstrated a character of leadership in the [student organizations] I participate in, and I am a very passionate learner and I always put in the effort to learn new things and always do better. As a CREATE Student Fellow, we are all value creators within our community with what we do and have done in the past years.”

When he served as president of NSBE, Sebsibie helped the organization secure sponsorships and partnered with CREATE to work on projects with two Milwaukee Public School (MPS) middle schools to increase opportunities in STEM. “Being a member and former president of the National Society of Black Engineers and contributing what I can to the diverse population within the city of Milwaukee has broadened my horizon in so many ways and enabled me to find a better version of myself.”