Humans Of Tulsa: Michael Heins

SS: “Why did you pick mechanical engi- neering as your major?”
MH: “I always enjoyed building as a kid, like toy boats and rollercoasters with ki- netX. And I knew that I enjoyed math and science but I wanted something creative, so not just research. So when I came to college I thought engineering would be a good way to combine creativity with math and science and a love of building so it all fit together in one.”
SS: “So what do you want to do with your degree?”
MH: “I don’t quite know yet. However, I do have an interest in aerospace. So if I could go into anything with aviation, I think that would be fascinating. The dream would be to work for NASA designing [things], whether it’s something robotic or maybe even working on rockets. Of course that’s a different pursuit than mechanical [engineer- ing], but I think that would be fascinating.”
SS: “What are you doing at TU right now?”
MH: “Learning?”
SS: “I mean besides academics.”
MH: “I just went to one of the first meet- ings for flight club. They do aerospace type competitions and I might try to do that this semester. But then I also do RUF which is the Presbyterian Christian organization ministry on campus. They’re a lot of fun.”
SS: “What else interests you?”
MH: “Well, as I mentioned, creativity. I do love art. I play piano. I make pottery and draw. I enjoy doing that during my free time as a hobby.”
SS: “Do you plan to do something with that?”
MH: “Um, I think of it as like a backup.”
SS: “So if working at NASA doesn’t work out … “
MH: “And I would love to just keep piano as a skill. Teach it to my kids, if I have kids one day. Or it’s a good party trick, in a way.”