Laura Marmolejo
Austin Community College
Austin, TX USA
"Live life and keep learning."
Career Roadmap
Laura's work combines: Engineering, Education, and Teaching / Mentoring
See more careers and stories that connect to your interests.
Take Roadmap Quiz
Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
It's been common for people to push students to strive for a four-year university after high school. However, that's not the only path to success. Community colleges are great options. Not only is it more cost-efficient to start at a community college, but they also offer a great learning environment with a better student-teacher ratio.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Electrical Engineering
University of Texas at El Paso
Graduate Degree
Metallurgical Engineering
University of Texas at El Paso
Doctorate
Community College Leadership
National American University
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
I was born and raised in El Paso, Texas.
2.
I earned my bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering followed by a master’s degree in metallurgical engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso.
3.
After graduating, I moved to Austin, Texas, because there were more job opportunities.
4.
I proceeded to build my career as an engineer, working as both a process engineer and a quality engineer.
5.
After about 12 years as an engineer, I transitioned into education and joined Austin Community College as an electronics professor.
6.
I spent 24 years as an electronics professor and then became the department chair for manufacturing technology.
7.
After three years as the manufacturing technology department chair, I moved up to my current role as associate dean of advanced manufacturing programs.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
You need to go to a university straight out of high school in order to be successful.
How I responded:
It's been common for people to push students to strive for a four-year university after high school. However, that's not the only path to success. Community colleges are great options. Not only is it more cost-efficient to start at a community college, but they also offer a great learning environment with a better student-teacher ratio.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
Growing up, I didn't know anyone who had a college education. It took me longer to graduate because I had to navigate it on my own and stumble along the way. Once I finally understood what the goal was, it got easier.