Biosketch
- Name: Tal Nir
- College: Francis College of Engineering
- Major: Industrial Engineering with a Math minor
- Hometown: Brookline, Massachusetts
- Favorite hobbies: Hiking, swimming, writing, and watching shows (especially animated ones.)
- What is your favorite thing about UMass Lowell (UML)? The people! Everyone I’ve met at UML has been helpful and friendly, it feels like we’re all here to bring each other up.
- What are your future goals? I hope to work in the marine fields and encourage environmentally sustainable processing of plastics and materials. Beyond that, I want to write a novel one day.
- What has having been involved with the RHSA meant to you? It’s finding a community of people inside of a large university. I’ve met some of my closest friends at RHSA, and it’s continued to be a great resource and comfort throughout the year.
- Looking back, what advice would you give to yourself in your first year of college? Slow down- it all passes by fast, and if you forget to enjoy the moment it’ll be over before you know it. Take the time to get to know the people and places so that you can look back and say you’ve done it all.
- What advice would you give fellow students? Enjoy yourself and connect to the people around you. College is as much about what you do outside of class as it is about academics. Your grades don’t define you.
- Why did you choose to attend UMass Lowell? UML offers a ton of support outside of class, as well as opportunities to further learning via other experiences (like co-ops or research.) I struggle with a lot of STEM topics, so all this support made me more confident in pursuing a STEM degree at UML, whereas I might not have in other colleges.
- What does it mean to you to be a first-generation college student? It means having a blank map to fill out. My parents had little experience with the US college system when coming here. So being a first-gen student is motivation for me to excel while figuring out what I want to do and how to get there.
- What inspires you to want to help first-generation students in the RHSA? I want to be there for future students the way my leaders were (and are) for me. To help make the first year less stressful by making sure each student is heard, and make sure everyone can find their place in this amazing community.