What happens when you combine an extroverted and joyful personality with an engineer's precision and focus? Meet electrical and computer engineering major Evelyn Marx.
"Being at Vanderbilt, I've learned to better trust myself and have more confidence in my passions, even if they're a little bit more out of the box," said the Columbus, Ohio, native.
Marx started her engineering journey early, taking multiple college classes in high school and joining the university's underwater robotics team. That's where she first discovered her passion for electrical engineering.
BOLD CAREER PATH
Here at Vanderbilt, she worked as an intern with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency as a Department of Defense SMART Scholar her first year, and she's been active with year-round internships with the DOD since.
She's also been active with the Vanderbilt Institute of National Security as an intern, expanding her skills by gaining a greater understanding of the needs for future leaders.
"Mentors at the institute have helped me learn about modern conflicts and politics and how they tie into the scientific work that I focus on," she said. "I was thrilled to be part of the institute launch and learn from the lecture series and the annual summit. Hopefully later in my career, I'll become a contributor and really give back."
She's been doing all of this while balancing her sorority, clubs and time with friends.
We sat down with Evelyn to learn more about her and her Vanderbilt experience.
1. WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO VANDERBILT?
"My first exposure to Vanderbilt was through my brother, Murray. He was a freshman when I was applying, and I just fell in love with the campus. He had such a positive experience, even during COVID. He graduated from Vandy in 2023, and now he's a second-year medical student at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine," she said.
"It was also very apparent to me the innovation that's going on at Vanderbilt. When I did my tours, I was overwhelmingly impressed by the School of Engineering and the cutting-edge robotics going on. I remember walking into Featheringill for the first time and just feeling a connection there," Marx said.
2. WHERE HAVE YOU FOUND A SENSE OF COLLABORATION?
"I think collaboration is the only way to really learn in engineering. You can read every textbook. You can walk through every lab manual by yourself. But until you're working with a team of people and learning about project management and building as a group, I think you really aren't fully learning to be engineers," she said.
"My senior project has been the most robust and rewarding team project I've ever done. The project is for Vanderbilt Motorsports, and they are the sickest student org on campus. I'm helping them to create a data acquisition system with a team of three other electrical engineers. What that means is that we're taking a bunch of sensors, placing them all over the race car so that they can get data about the vehicle and then create a better battery design for the next year's race car," Marx said.
"I'm also definitely on the social side for an engineer. A lot of my friends are in engineering with me. I'm very involved in my sorority Zeta Tau Alpha and the Jewish center on campus. And then, of course, Women in Computing has been such a great source of connection to me throughout college."
3. WHAT IS A CORE VANDERBILT MEMORY YOU'LL TAKE WITH YOU?
"Obviously, having my brother here has been amazing. When Vanderbilt beat Alabama, we were together at the football game, and we got to go on the field together. That is a moment that I will never forget in my entire Vanderbilt experience. I think it just made me so much prouder to be a Commodore. I didn't even know that was possible. So that's a big moment to me."
"Another big one is when I met the former director of the FBI, Christopher Wray, on campus. That was an incredible experience. He was at the Summit on Modern Conflict [and Emerging Threats] last spring. Meeting these experts and people who've really done such amazing things with their career is incredible. You can't get that anywhere else."
4. WHAT'S SOMETHING YOU WANT TO CONTINUE AFTER GRADUATION?
"I really care about more women entering the field of engineering. I feel like a lot of things that I've done at Vanderbilt through clubs and mentoring have hopefully encouraged more women to be leaders in science. And when I become an engineering professor, which is my goal, supporting and inspiring women is something that I'm going to be able to continue through my career. Don't listen to self-doubt, and pursue your passions in any fields, even if it seems intimidating."
5. FINISH THE SENTENCE, "TO ME, VANDERBILT IS…"
"I think the obvious answer is 'home.' It's been a home for me since my brother got here in 2019. My dad passed right before I started at Vanderbilt, and he knew Vanderbilt was my dream school too. So, it's been in my life for so long. I've met my forever friends. I've found my career passions. I've learned more about myself. And I'm so grateful."
- Look for more stories in the Class of 2025 storytelling series.
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