Posted on Leave a comment

Scuba Diving, Swing Dancing, and Mechanical Engineering: An Interview with Dr. Erik Bardy

Stereotypically on our beloved campus, it seems that the engineers just live in the Hoyt Engineering building and do homework all day. However, you could just as easily find them on the roof of the Hall of Arts and Letters, in secret tunnels underneath the Student Union, or even exploring the streets of Paris, France. There are so many opportunities for our engineers to experience tours of the engineering systems that operate our campus, as well as travel abroad with our France program. Dr. Erik Bardy serves as a tremendous resource to our students by presenting them with multiple opportunities within the diverse discipline of engineering.

Originally from Poughkeepsie, NY, Dr. Bardy studied his undergrad and Ph.D. in Buffalo, NY, but traveled abroad to France for his Master’s degree.  Bardy found Grove City College through some friends and faculty, and became interested in the possibility of a program where engineers could travel abroad. Bardy explained, “A very small percentage of mechanical engineers get to study abroad…developing international skills in cultural competence and being able to function, operate, and work in a culture where people think differently about how things should be done is important.”

Engineering is a very broad degree and there is so much that an engineering student can consider in specializing their career path. Bardy discussed, “My biased opinion is that [engineering] spans a lot. Your education will not be specialized on one area, you will be trained in a broad spectrum. There are a lot of different things you can do and you have to find your interests within that.” Within engineering, there are classes about alternative energy systems, Biomechanics, HVAC and Aerospace where students can study focuses for potential career paths. The great thing about the engineering program at Grove City College is that students stick together. Bardy said, “Very rarely will you get a non-major in an engineering class. Sometimes physics majors, but usually all engineers.”

The European Study Center is a program designed for mechanical and electrical engineers to have the opportunity to take core classes from Grove City College with Grove City students for a semester in Nantes, France. This program works with the French school ONIRIS, where our students take one course with French students to enhance their intercultural skills. Being fully bilingual and having family history in France, Dr. Bardy has traveled with students to France many times with intersession courses, and plans to take on the ONIRIS program within the next few years.

The importance of communication within engineering is something Dr. Bardy implements through his classes. “Classically you learn how to write technically – abstracts, product descriptions, presentations – and you start learning about your audience,” Bardy explains. Every senior mechanical engineer works with a team on a senior design project for their final semesters with the goal of creating and explaining things to people who do and don’t have technical backgrounds. This is great hands-on experience aside from an internship where students can get a feel for what working in the industry actually looks like.

Now you might be wondering where the scuba diving and swing dancing steps in to all of this – Dr. Bardy does have a life outside of engineering and enjoys these unique hobbies. Bardy became interested in scuba diving through his Ph.D. dissertation where he created a wetsuit designed for military use.  He also enjoys swing dancing with his wife, and can frequently be seen speaking French in the cafeteria to his younger daughter who will most likely become bilingual as well. Despite the stereotypes that may surround busy engineering students, our engineers have plenty of opportunities to use their creative skills all over the world – and sometimes they do leave Hoyt.

Posted on Leave a comment

Are You a Film Lover? You Need a Dr. Miller Class

In all honesty, there are too many days where I wish my homework would consist of Netflix instead of organic chemical equations. Not that there’s anything wrong with chemistry, but there certainly isn’t anything wrong with movies either. Good thing Dr. Miller thinks so too – with classes like Christian Faith & Cinema, Screenwriting, and Film Theory & History, you can learn about and watch movies in class and for homework.

K.MillerThe Communications discipline is full of diverse areas of concentration, including the study of film. I’ve had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Kimberly Miller, professor and academic advisor to Communications students, who has a passion for teaching and writing film. Dr. Miller has been teaching at Grove City College for over 10 years, and is a wonderful resource in teaching students about the importance of the history and industry of film in our lives.

When I asked Dr. Miller why she chose to teach at Grove City, I was surprised to hear she really never planned on teaching at all. “I studied English writing in college,” she explained, “but I had a professor who asked me to fill in on teaching her film class one day [after graduation] and I just loved the students and their excitement to talk about advanced film theory.” Born and raised in Western PA, Dr. Miller naturally felt at home in Grove City and was amazed at the support and encouragement she received to begin teaching in the Communications department.

With the broadness of the communications discipline, Dr. Miller pointed out, “Flexibility is huge. Our classes support each other and allow for transferable skills to help figure out our paths.” Many classes and electives offered within communications include writing, presentation, and creativity skills that can be used in class and in the real world. Dr. Miller places a huge value in internships as “an opportunity to test drive your career path, and also be flexible to learn the field.” Taking the transferable skills utilized in the classroom to a professional work environment is a great way to prepare yourself for what the industry entails.

The idea of using a communications degree as a way to get involved with film is not something you might expect at a private Christian liberal arts college. One of the great things about offering film courses with the Communications degree is the variety it offers in a new way of writing and telling stories. Dr. Miller explained, “Film used to be a required course, but now it’s a choice elective. People would always ask ‘why do we have to take it?’ If you don’t love film that’s fine, but historically film has impacted us so much.” Even though it’s fun to watch movies for homework and analyze characters, film goes beyond Netflix culture. She continues, “Film tells stories, it’s a cultural language that we can all appreciate. It isn’t a mindless activity.”

Dr. Miller’s film classes are rather popular and often appeal to non-Communications majors. She said she frequently gets biology, political science, and education majors in film classes looking to improve writing and understand how to use film as a learning tool. Dr. Miller elaborated on how the department is focused on including the technical side of communications saying, “We’re looking forward to encouraging more internships and making yourself more marketable. As you take on a lot of things, having practical experience can support the theoretical side of Communications.”

Along with her love of film and enjoying movies with her family, Dr. Miller also relaxes by making jewelry. Whether it’s whipping up a pair of earrings as a gift to a friend or attending a craft show, Dr. Miller appreciated expressing creativity in and outside of the classroom. So whether you need a great movie suggestion, writing inspiration, or just a great person to talk to, Dr. Miller is an amazing asset to the Grove City family.

Interested in pursuing film or photography as a career path? Read about some possibilities here on various jobs in the media industry.