Hello friends, my name is Al-Muthanna Al-Ani.  I am a Mechanical engineering Major with a minor is intelligent robotic systems in my 4th year at UCF.  I graduated from Qatar Academy, an international school in the country of Qatar.  Being in an international school I was able to meet all kinds of people each different is their own unique ways.  This experience allowed me to appreciate the multitude of cultures and backgrounds the world has to offer.  Though this I have developed an interest in learning about new people and where they are from.

During my time at UCF I have come across many students from all the different colleges here each with their own story, passion, and reasoning for why they are pursuing their career.  I have also met many people who are not as happy with their choice of study, people who burn out after the first year, finding out that becoming a scientist is not as easy as they thought back in high school.  I ask what I will do when I graduate, will I simply work at a desk or build the next Mars rover.  The one thing I know for sure is that when you believe in your career and you have the drive and passion to push through and learn, those are the people who are really going to make an impact.  

When I first joined STEM ambassadors, I said I wanted to get students excited about STEM, engineering and almost sell the field of robotics.  However, that’s not the right approach, what I want to do is have students realize for themselves the beauty that is the STEM fields.  Anyone can convince a person to pursue a career, but only you have the passion and motivation to push no matter the obstacles to get to your dream.  As long as I can help even one student find that motivation to say yes, I want to be in STEM then I would have done my job.  I can’t wait to continue my journey as a STEM ambassador for year of 2020-21.