Simon Restrepo is one of MSOE’s CREATE Student Fellows. CREATE Student Fellows work for the CREATE Institute and are dedicated to offering project support and leadership mentoring for internal and external partners. “My role is to aid other students in their experiential learning journey.”

Restrepo enjoys assisting others with 3D printers and other resources in the Nelson Prototype Lab in the Cove in Viets Tower. He even led an introductory workshop on using a Cricut machine for vinyl cutting to make tags for luggage, sports equipment and more.

While he loves being able to access the lab and see others learn, the people have been the best part so far. “My favorite part has been getting to form relationships with other fellows,” said Restrepo. “Being a CREATE Student Fellow connects you with a community of people committed to learning. I am thankful for the opportunity I have been given to work at the Cove, and I would highly recommend anyone else who is considering working here to pursue it.”

In addition to being a CREATE Student Fellow, Restrepo also is involved in leadership roles in the Fencing Club, National Society of Leadership and Success, and is involved with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship chapter where he leads a Bible study group.

The mechanical engineering major chose MSOE because of the excellent academic programs and it is close to home, allowing him to be able to spend time with his family and attend his home church in New Berlin. Mechanical engineering was a natural fit. “I enjoy working with my hands and seeing tangible outcomes from my work. I have been blessed with an aptitude in math and science and an interest in art, and an engineering field like Mechanical Engineering seems like a great way to use those gifts.”

Over the summer he put these skillsets into practice at his internship at HyllermannTyton, a company that manufactures and supplies products for fastening, fixing, installing, connecting, insulating, protecting and identifying electrical cables. He served as the manufacturing industrial engineering intern. “I enjoyed getting to meet the other intern and connect with him, and the exposure to a corporate work environment was a great learning opportunity.”