When Katey Harrison ‘25 arrived at St. Ambrose University, she thought she had her future mapped out. Coming from Bettendorf, Iowa, and inspired by her experiences with sports and her grandfather’s physical therapy, she enrolled with plans to pursue a career in the medical field.
Along the way, Harrison discovered that growth sometimes means a change of plans. During her first semester, she realized her true interests were leading her somewhere else.
"I learned that studying the human body was not what I wanted to do," Harrison said. "It was something I enjoyed, and I liked learning about, but nothing that made me say, ‘I want to do this for the rest of my life.’"
Rather than staying on a path that no longer felt right, Harrison embraced the chance to explore new options, a change made easier by the support she found on campus. Conversations with her family and meetings with faculty in the engineering department helped her make the switch.
"I really liked math and sciences," Harrison said. "I have a lot of engineers in my family too, so I had a lot of questions for them to figure out what type of engineering."
Through this exploration, mechanical engineering became a perfect fit. At St. Ambrose, Harrison found herself thriving in challenging courses like dynamics, fluid mechanics, and mechatronics, where she designed and coded robots for competition.
"It was challenging and also very fun," she said of the project. "The challenging part was getting it to do what you want."
Hands-on projects, like designing and building a bench in sophomore design class, which now sits in front of the university library, helped her see the tangible results of her work. But beyond academics, Harrison’s journey brought her friendships and leadership experiences she hadn’t expected.
She also poured her energy into Dance Marathon, serving on the executive board for two years to raise funds for children’s health initiatives.
"Seeing a ton of young adults and college students make a difference in society and for children’s health really put into perspective how special this organization is," Harrison said.
After graduation, Harrison will move to Spencer, Iowa, to start her career as a drafter and design engineer. She feels confident her time at St. Ambrose gave her a strong foundation.
"I feel like I have a good backbone leaving Ambrose," she said. "But still getting that workplace knowledge and specifics to the field that you don’t necessarily get in school."
Her advice to future students is simple: embrace the uncertainty.
"Don’t be afraid to take a chance at anything on campus," Harrison said. "You’re always going to end up in a better spot, even if it fails. I wouldn’t be where I am today without taking the chance of changing my major halfway through first semester, and I don’t regret it at all."
Is a degree in engineering in your future? Visit the engineering page to explore St. Ambrose University's degree options.
