Juan Mesa is a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. As a teenager, Juan was a car enthusiast. He loved cars. What Juan would do to mimic that experience of working with cars was that he would grab lawnmowers to take them apart and then later put them back together. He liked cars in that brands like BMW made great vehicles, focusing a lot on performance as well as getting high efficiency levels whether it was from the engine or the transmission of the vehicle.

Juan decided to pursue a PhD after speaking with some of his professors. He said that he was putting his ambitions first and not ultimately seeing the bigger picture of things. So after speaking with his professors, they told him that he should further his academia and pursue a Ph.D. Juan kept this in mind so after graduating, he applied for an MBA, job positions, as well as a PhD. Juan wanted to keep all of his opportunities open.

Here is some advice that he offered me during our interview:

1. Be humble and grateful for every opportunity you get when you meet people. People come from different backgrounds and have different connections that may benefit you. Meeting these new people can open the door to more opportunities that you have been looking for.

2. Your life is what you make of it. How much work you put in usually correlates to your success. Sometimes things may not work out for you whereas other times it does. Put in the work now so you won’t regret it later.

3. Figure out who you are and reflect on yourself and your worth. Ask yourself where you want to be in a few years. Adjust your lifestyle in a way that will help you achieve your goals.