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Student Voices
Kurtis Schultz
- Hometown: Auburn, WA
- Major: Plastics Engineering Technology
Academic Highlight
The Human Powered Submarine Race in Escondido, California was a huge highlight. This was such a rich educational and rewarding trip. We were able to race a submarine that we all spent countless hours building and engineering. In the end I received so much more than I gave to the program.
Outside the Classroom
I love white water kayaking, climbing, and biking. I also have enjoyed guiding white water rafting, rock climbing, and kayak trips for the last 6 years with a Christian wilderness ministry. After graduating I traveled around the world to visit and learn from other cultures and people; now this too has become a passion.
Life in Bellingham
After spending time in other places around the world I can say with confidence Bellingham is one of the most uniquely beautiful places I've ever been. The town offers venues for every age group with coffee shops and ice cream to Boundary Bay beer and wood fire pizza. The area is surrounded with water to paddle, trails to run, rocks to climb, lakes to swim, parks to relax, and all this within a 15 minute bike ride.
After Western
I left Bellingham for six months after graduation and traveled a bit before returning to my first professional job as a research and development engineer at Conterra Inc., a mountain rescue equipment manufacturer in Bellingham. This small company is an amazing place for me to start my engineering career...in fact it's been a dream job for me since I was in seventh grade!