Professional Self-Assessment Report

By: Andy Bruinsma

  1. I feel that throughout this entire semester, I have put forth my best effort in order to achieve personal and team success. Our team has faced many challenges along the way, but I feel that, individually and collectively, we have been able to overcome them by critical thinking and hard work. Reviewing the learning objectives expected of the team, I believe that I have achieve each one of these goals along the way. From a personal standpoint, I have helped with the overall design of the project including hardware and software. I have also taken somewhat of a leadership role in making sure everyone was on the same page and working cohesively. I have worked on every written and oral assignment the team has completed. Although a majority of my portion of the project was software-based, I tried my best to give input and help out in any way that I could for the hardware portion as well. Overall, I believe that my input was valuable to the team’s success and helped in order to prepare us for design day.
  2. From a technical standpoint, I believe my single most important contribution to the team was working on the software portion of the project. My main goal the first half of the semester was to get MDM installed and working properly. In order to do this, I first had to become familiar with Linux Ubuntu. Next I had to research multiple websites in order to understand MDM as best as possible. To become more knowledgeable in the MDM software, I contacted two former members of previous design teams as well as one of the developers of MDM. Through weeks of email, research, and testing I was finally able to get MDM to work properly for six seats.

One of the main things that helped me get to this point was reading through numerous configuration files in order to understand what each file did. MDM is a very complicated collection of configuration files, that with the smallest change, the ability to even start MDM could fail. The most complicated configuration file that required change was the xorg.conf.mdm file. This file contains information on the video cards, keyboards, mice, monitors, and the physical layout of the screens. I was able to find numerous versions of this file online and from previous design teams, and through numerous changes and testing, MDM finally worked.

The other main technical aspect I worked on during this project was on the sound. Bret and I altered the mdm.conf file by add the sound devices section. Then we had to assign each user a card that would be dedicated solely to their ‘seat’. I also assisted in some of the design layout for the hardware portion of the project and gave input to questions other team members had. Overall, I feel that I a fare portion of the work from technical standpoint.

  1. While the technical portion of this project was very time consuming, the written reports were nearly as demanding. My non-technical role for the team was document preparer, so I oversaw all documents turned in this year. In addition to writing a good portion of each document, I also was responsible for piecing together everyone else’s portion of the assignments. The main documents that were turned in this semester that required the most work were the preproposal, the proposal, and design issues paper. All of these papers were quite long, specifically the final proposal, which meant everyone in the group had to write a pretty significant amount. This made my work more difficult, as I had to make sure each portion of the paper fit well together and had a solid overall flow.

The other main non-technical duties I had were to assist Bret in making the presentations and keeping track of our team’s financial situation. The presentation portion was not that demanding, but ordering and finding the best prices for our hardware components was quite challenging. I put together a Bill of Materials (BOM) in order to keep track of what we had purchased and at what price. I feel that these roles were very helpful for me, as I was able to experience real world responsibilities such as writing technical reports and budgeting for a project. My last main responsibility will be to write for and finalize the final report due before Design Day.

  1. Looking back over my entire college experience, ECE 480 has been my favorite and most valuable class ever. I feel that it has really helped me in a number of different ways to better prepare myself for my career. Many classes have taught me far more technical roles, but ECE 480 is where everything came together. I feel this course help me cover many different areas a working engineer would be responsible for, such as designing, critical thinking, researching, implementing ideas, testing, redesigning, and producing a finished product. This seemed to be especially true for my design team. Since our product will actually be used in Tanzania, we had to complete our project entirely in just 4 months. Many other groups did not have that same pressure, and I think that helped me to understand how important it was to work hard and to work cohesively with my team.
  2. While I learned a lot about engineering during this project, I also learned about myself. Starting with strengths, I feel like I worked well within a team environment. Getting to know your teammates is very important, as I think it is important to understand where they are coming from and the best way to communicate with them. I also feel that I am a hard worker and I usually work towards efficiency and perfection. I think it is very important to deliver a high quality product for the best possible price. Looking at that strength, also points out one of my potential weaknesses. Sometimes perfection is not always an option, so learning to understand that is sometimes difficult for me. Also, I tend to have a leadership mentality, which is generally useful, but sometimes it is also important to let others in the group lead. Overall, I feel that taking ECE 480 was a great way to understand myself better and how to work with other engineers in a real world environment.
  3. While the past five years have flown by, a lot has been accomplished and I am excited to see what the future holds. I hope to keep an open mind towards different career options that may be presented to me. Ultimately, I hope to have a solid job, and hopefully the one that I will begin at Raytheon shortly after graduation. If possible, which seems to be the case at Raytheon, I would really enjoy the opportunity to work overseas for a year or two. Not only would I enjoy the travel, but I think it would be a great opportunity to work with other cultures and types of people, something very important in today’s global economy. Another aspect of my career I hope to advance is my leadership roles. I am already in the Air National Guard and have recently been put in a leadership position. I would really like to continue on that path in both the military and in my civilian career. Whether or not I become a manager, I would really like to receive more education. I hope to pursue a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or Engineering Management. While many possibilities could take place, I feel like I am in a good position to advance and continue to gain experience over the next five years.
  4. In order to achieve my goals over the next five years, I think it is very important to maintain a strong work ethic and a strong level of commitment to gain more experience and knowledge. I hope to attain these goals, continuing my education and learning from on the job experience is vital. It will be important to not take the easy route at work, rather to choose assignments that will be challenging and useful for me down the road. Ultimately, most of life is all about what you can make it. If I continue to challenge myself and work hard, I believe things will work out for the best.

Andrew Bruinsma

928 133rd Avenue, Wayland, MI 49348 ▪ 616-328-2392 ▪

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering Jan 2006-Present

Michigan State University ▪ East Lansing, MI

  • Overall GPA: 3.22
  • Dean’s List (Fall 08-Spring 09)
  • Expected Graduation: May 2010

United States Air Force Aug 2005-Jan 2006

Keesler Air Force Base ▪ Biloxi, MS

  • Graduate of 16-week 3C2x1 (Network Integration) Air Force Technical Training School
  • Basic Military Training – learned military instruction and discipline

EXPERIENCE

United States Air Force Aug 2004-Present

Michigan Air National Guard ▪ Battle Creek, MI

  • Possess an active, Top Secret security clearance
  • As a Staff Sergeant, provide leadership for other airman
  • Integrate, operate, and monitor the physical, data link, network, and transport layers of the base local area network
  • Attended ANG Leadership conference in January 2009

Technical Support May 2007-Aug 2009

Gordon Food Service ▪ Grand Rapids, MI

  • Experience diagnosing, troubleshooting and resolving client issues
  • Support for Microsoft Office, Novell, intranet applications, and Windows 98/XP

Study Abroad Feb 2008-Jun 2008

Queensland University of Technology ▪ Brisbane, Australia

  • Studied for a semester through the Michigan State University study abroad program
  • Gained an international perspective on Australian culture and studies

SKILLS, CERTIFICATIONS, & AWARDS

  • CompTia Security+ certified
  • United States Air Force Humanitarian Medal for Hurricane Katrina recovery and support
  • United States Air Force Achievement Medal
  • Familiaritywith PSPICE, Matlab, Linux, Unigraphics NX, C++, MS Office
  • Experience withan oscilloscope, digital multimeter, function generator, and circuit building