What happens when you combine an extroverted and joyful personality with an engineerās precision and focus? Meet major Evelyn Marx.
āBeing at 91ĢĘ²®»¢, Iāve learned to better trust myself and have more confidence in my passions, even if theyāre a little bit more out of the box,ā said the Columbus, Ohio, native.
Marx started her engineering journey early, taking multiple college classes in high school and joining the universityās underwater robotics team. Thatās where she first discovered her passion for electrical engineering.
BOLD CAREER PATH
Here at 91ĢĘ²®»¢, she worked as an intern with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency as a Department of Defense SMART Scholar her first year, and sheās been active with year-round internships with the DOD since.
Sheās also been active with the as an intern, expanding her skills by gaining a greater understanding of the needs for future leaders.
āMentors at the institute have helped me learn about modern conflicts and politics and how they tie into the scientific work that I focus on,ā she said. āI was thrilled to be part of the institute launch and learn from the lecture series and the annual summit. Hopefully later in my career, I’ll become a contributor and really give back.ā
Sheās been doing all of this while balancing her sorority, clubs and time with friends.
We sat down with Evelyn to learn more about her and her 91ĢĘ²®»¢ experience.
1. WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO VANDERBILT?
āMy first exposure to 91ĢĘ²®»¢ was through my brother, Murray. He was a freshman when I was applying, and I just fell in love with the campus. He had such a positive experience, even during COVID. He graduated from Vandy in 2023, and now heās a second-year medical student at 91ĢĘ²®»¢ University School of Medicine,ā she said.
āIt was also very apparent to me the innovation thatās going on at 91ĢĘ²®»¢. When I did my tours, I was overwhelmingly impressed by the School of Engineering and the cutting-edge robotics going on. I remember walking into Featheringill for the first time and just feeling a connection there,ā Marx said.
2. WHERE HAVE YOU FOUND A SENSE OF COLLABORATION?
āI think collaboration is the only way to really learn in engineering. You can read every textbook. You can walk through every lab manual by yourself. But until youāre working with a team of people and learning about project management and building as a group, I think you really arenāt fully learning to be engineers,ā she said.
āMy senior project has been the most robust and rewarding team project Iāve ever done. The project is for and they are the sickest student org on campus. Iām helping them to create a data acquisition system with a team of three other electrical engineers. What that means is that weāre taking a bunch of sensors, placing them all over the race car so that they can get data about the vehicle and then create a better battery design for the next yearās race car,ā Marx said.
āIām also definitely on the social side for an engineer. A lot of my friends are in engineering with me. Iām very involved in my sorority Zeta Tau Alpha and the Jewish center on campus. And then, of course, Women in Computing has been such a great source of connection to me throughout college.ā
3. WHAT IS A CORE VANDERBILT MEMORY YOUāLL TAKE WITH YOU?
āObviously, having my brother here has been amazing. When 91ĢĘ²®»¢ beat Alabama, we were together at the football game, and we got to go on the field together. That is a moment that I will never forget in my entire 91ĢĘ²®»¢ experience. I think it just made me so much prouder to be a Commodore. I didnāt even know that was possible. So thatās a big moment to me.ā
āAnother big one is when I met the former director of the FBI, Christopher Wray, on campus. That was an incredible experience. He was at the Summit on Modern Conflict [and Emerging Threats] last spring. Meeting these experts and people whoāve really done such amazing things with their career is incredible. You canāt get that anywhere else.ā
4. WHATāS SOMETHING YOU WANT TO CONTINUE AFTER GRADUATION?
āI really care about more women entering the field of engineering. I feel like a lot of things that Iāve done at 91ĢĘ²®»¢ through clubs and mentoring have hopefully encouraged more women to be leaders in science. And when I become an engineering professor, which is my goal, supporting and inspiring women is something that Iām going to be able to continue through my career. Donāt listen to self-doubt, and pursue your passions in any fields, even if it seems intimidating.ā
5. FINISH THE SENTENCE, āTO ME, VANDERBILT ISā¦ā
āI think the obvious answer is āhome.ā Itās been a home for me since my brother got here in 2019. My dad passed right before I started at 91ĢĘ²®»¢, and he knew 91ĢĘ²®»¢ was my dream school too. So, itās been in my life for so long. Iāve met my forever friends. Iāve found my career passions. Iāve learned more about myself. And Iām so grateful.ā
Hear from Evelyn in this Instagram reel:
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