About 20 college students interested in transferring to the College of Engineering toured environmental engineering and robotics labs, met with advisors and more at the March 20 Transfer Student Day event.

“I’ve been super-excited about this event,” Samantha Bernardy said, after touring a lab where water samples are tested for COVID and other pathogens.

Bernardy, who is interested in environmental engineering, is a student at Truckee Meadows Community College. In addition to TMCC, event attendees came from Great Basin College in Elko and Western Nevada College in Carson City. One student made the trip from California. 

Organized by Engineering’s Recruitment and Outreach Team, Transfer Day aligns with a new initiative designed to streamline the transfer process for engineering students, among other things. The Engineering Pathways for Access, Community and Transfer (EPACT) program offers community college students from TMCC, Great Basin College and Western Nevada College the opportunity to take 200-level engineering courses online before transferring to the University of Nevada, Reno. The courses transfer seamlessly into the University’s engineering degree programs.

EPACT is funded through a five-year, $1.7 million National Science Foundation grant awarded last fall. Engineering Associate Dean Indira Chatterjee is co-principal investigator for the grant.

“I love this institution and I’ve seen it grow,” Chatterjee told event attendees. Also addressing the group: Julia Lapham, Engineering recruitment and outreach coordinator; Carissa Dutra, Engineering undergraduate and graduate recruiter; Joe Bozsik, Engineering Career Services director; and Lindsey Forbes, UNR director of transfer recruitment. 

For more on transferring to the College of Engineering, contact Julia Lapham.