Undergraduate Student Profiles

Name: Steven Flisler
Year: 2006
Major: Digital Media Design
Minor: Cinema Studies
Hometown: Fort Lee, New Jersey

What has been your favorite engineering class and why?
The most interesting engineering class I have taken to date is, Engineering Entrepreneurship with Professor Tom Cassel. For starters, Professor Cassel is one of the most skilled, dynamic, and fascinating professors that I have encountered at Penn. He started as an undergraduate at Penn Engineering and proceeded to own and operate numerous large scale companies. He now bestows his knowledge in both engineering and business upon Penn Engineering students. For me, the class has taken everything I have learned through all my courses at Penn ranging from Computer Science Engineering, Communications, Marketing, Legal Studies, to Film, and wrapped them up into a nice package that I can use to create a successful startup business. Engineering Entrepreneurship is a fast paced crash course in business topics for engineering students and it has changed the way I approach my undergraduate studies. I have begun to understand how the knowledge and skills I have learned in Penn Engineering can be developed and applied to the real world environment. While I am still unsure as to which road I will take in my career, I am confident that after taking Engineering Entrepreneurship that road will pass by a company in which I help found.

What makes Penn different from, say, MIT or Caltech? What do you think of the differences?
The main differences between Penn and other engineering focused schools is the overall diversity that Penn offers in every facet of a student’s college experience. On the academic front, Penn has some of the most high caliber departments across a broad range of fields. Different than other schools, Penn encourages the typical engineer to explore as many non-engineering courses and opportunities as possible. Overall these non-engineering experiences have significantly complemented my studies at Penn. Coupled with the outstanding social atmosphere, Penn has one of the most unique college campuses. No where else can you work so hard during the week and play so hard during the weekend all with some of the most intelligent people in the world. While other schools may have comparable academics to Penn, no others can compare to the combination of first class athletic teams, entertaining social clubs, and the ambiance of Philadelphia.

What’s your greatest accomplishment outside of the classroom at Penn?
Up until this point in my life I feel as though my biggest accomplishment as an individual is walking on to the UPenn football team and becoming a special teams starter in my sophomore year. Throughout high school I dedicated my time to becoming a better football player, but was not afforded an opportunity to play college football since I was undersized. I took a risk and walked on to the team in pre-season camp in the summer of 2002 and made the biggest commitment of my college career. Since then, I have worked hard every day of the season and off-season for three years to improve my football skills and stay competitive. I am now an integral part of the team and dedicate significant time to the team along with managing my college course load. Additionally, I have been a two year starter and a part of two Ivy League Football Championships with an overall three year record of 27 wins and 3 losses.

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