Homework for Chapters 3 and 4

Name:

__William Mayhue

1. Review the list of Mistakes Students Make. Do any of these describe the
way you are approaching your engineering studies? Do you think you
would benefit by changing to the strategy described in the right-hand
column? Pick one or two items and make a commitment to make the
required changes.
I identify with a few mistakes on Landis (2013) list of Mistakes
Students Make. I assume that engineering studies will be similar to high
school, mostly because I took six engineering courses over my four years
in high school. One of the reasons I make this assumption is because
these STEM academy courses are modeled like college courses, and yield
college credits. I may benefit from working to understand and adjust, in
other classes and aspects of college, such as time management. Another
mistake I make is studying 100% alone. In high school I rarely studied,
and when I did, it was alone right before I went to sleep. With the
increased course load in college, it would be beneficial to get a group
together to study and help each other through. Along with studying along,
I typically neglect studying altogether. In order to remedy this, I should
get involved with a group that will set regular times, and make sure to
work towards success together. Avoiding making these mistakes and
staying committed to it will ensure I have a successful experience in
college.

2. What benefits will come to you if your professors know you by name that
might not come to you if they dont? Do your professors in your key
classes know your name? If youre not sure, how could you find out? If
they dont know your name, what steps can you take to ensure that they
do?
When professors know your name, they are more likely to help you out
with grades and instruction on a personal level. He or she is more likely to
advise you academically and offer career guidance. Right now, three of
my professors know my name. With two of my other professors I have
exchanged emails containing questions. Unfortunately, they would have
no way of associating my face with my name. In order to do this, a follow-

up to the email at the end of the class or during office hours is required.
Additionally, whenever talking to professors, I should make sure to
introduce myself and establish communication as often as appropriate.
Also, instead of emailing, all questions could be asked in person, allowing
for a more expanded and personalized response.

3. Pick one of the 30 individuals listed in Appendix C among the worlds

wealthiest engineers. Find out as much as you can about the person by
googling his or her name. What was their engineering discipline in
college? What did they do early in their career? How did they become so
wealthy? What lessons can you learn from their success?
Bernard Arnault studied engineering in college at Ecole Polytechnique.
After his graduation in 1971, he joined is father, working in his civil
engineering company, Ferret-Savinel. He convinced his father to sell the
construction division in order to focus the companys direction on real
estate. He rose to the top of this company by 1979, replacing his father as
president. He acquired a luxury goods company and took control of textile
industries in France. His ideas in his business model allowed him to
become powerful and wealthy by taking over other aspects of production
in luxury goods. From his success, one can learn to focus on potential,
rather than current position. He bought and developed companies which
showed potential, not ones which were already highly successful.