Ashley Mitchell

Ashley Mitchell is a fifth-year senior majoring in bioengineering with a concentration in biomechanics. She is from the suburbs of Chicago. Her biggest inspirations for pursuing engineering come from her father and her high school FIRST robotics team. Ashley is a proud daughter of a Mexican immigrant and the first in her family to attend a 4-year institution.

Throughout her college journey, Ashley joined several organizations on campus to develop a stronger sense of community on campus. During her freshmanyear, she joined the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), where she was a part of the High School Outreach committee helping to encourage high schoolers to pursue engineering at the University of Illinois. As a junior, she led a workshop onunderstanding one’s strengths for the SHPE freshman leadership retreat. Ashley soon became a member of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). She currently is on the STEM outreach committee where she helps create virtual science activities for youth and their families to work on together. Passionate about STEM outreach and representation, Ashley became an Engineering Ambassador (EA) where she led STEM-related presentations at local elementary schools and showed students that they too could be engineers one day. She later became Internal Vice President and managed the resume review training of EA’s members. Around the same time, Ashley began working for Engineering Career Services, providing students with resume reviews and other career preparation resources.

The Grainger College of Engineering has given Ashley amazing opportunities and unforgettable experiences. During the summer of 2019, Ashley got to travel to Puerto Rico to support local efforts for disaster relief from Hurricane Maria. Ashley is also a researcher for the Human Factors in Sociotechnical Systems Laboratory, where she learns how to evaluate and improve healthcare technology. She presented her research at the 2019 SHPE national conference and received third place in the poster competition. This experience had a great impact on her professional interests as she plans to pursue a career in human factors.

Outside of engineering, Ashley has been a member of the Mixed Student Union (MSU) since her freshman year, and now serves as the President, where she strives to create a space for students of mixed-race identity.

Ashley would like to thank the huge support system she has had, including her mom, dad, sister, friends, study buddies, advisors, and professors. They reminded her of her potential when she could not see it for herself. She could not have accomplished what she has without their continuous love, support, and motivation.