Mitchell Ahlswede

Biography

At 32 years old, I am a non-traditional student. For years I worked in the video game industry as artist, and before that I was an electrician. In many ways I am thankful I waited so long to go to college. My life experience allowed me to have a greater focus and the ability to drive myself and others around me more than I ever could have when I first graduated high school. Another great motivator for my success is my wife, Sharon. When we met she was completing her master’s degree for Occupational Therapy. It was seeing her better herself through higher education that drove me to seek out my own college career. I started out with the thought of becoming an electrical engineer because of my background as an electrician, but after taking a few mathematics and physics classes I realized that was the path for me. I found my way from a small technical college in Green Bay Wisconsin to the University of River Falls through a fortuitous meeting with the UWRF physics department head at a talk at my school. Once in River Falls I quickly found myself going to SPS meetings weekly. The campus SPS organization is extremely welcoming and fun to be part of. After my first year at the university I decided I enjoyed SPS enough to run for president of the chapter and I won. It was a great experience for me but stepped down to let others have that experience. I am now the chapter treasurer. I am currently nearing the end of my undergraduate career and have found my passion of physics, engineering, and programming culminating to furthering my studies and seeking out a graduate school for robotics. It has been scholarships such as this one that have helped me stay focused on being the best I can be and finding the correct path for my future.