{"id":10117,"date":"2026-04-30T07:48:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T14:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/student-success\/?p=10117"},"modified":"2026-04-14T17:55:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T00:55:09","slug":"student-spotlight-cameron-penrod","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/student-success\/2026\/04\/30\/student-spotlight-cameron-penrod\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Spotlight: Cameron Penrod"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"breadcrumbs\" typeof=\"BreadcrumbList\" vocab=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/\">\r\n\t<!-- Breadcrumb NavXT 7.2.0 -->\n<span property=\"itemListElement\" typeof=\"ListItem\"><a property=\"item\" typeof=\"WebPage\" title=\"Go to Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture.\" href=\"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/\" class=\"main-home\" ><span property=\"name\">Voiland College<\/span><\/a><meta property=\"position\" content=\"1\"><\/span><span property=\"itemListElement\" typeof=\"ListItem\"><a property=\"item\" typeof=\"WebPage\" title=\"Go to Voiland College Student Success.\" href=\"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/student-success\" class=\"home\" aria-current=\"page\"><span property=\"name\">Voiland College Student Success<\/span><\/a><meta property=\"position\" content=\"2\"><\/span><\/div><header class=\"wsu-article-header \">\r\n\t<h1 class=\"wsu-article-header__title\">\r\n\t\tStudent Spotlight: <br>Cameron Penrod\t<\/h1>\r\n\t\t<\/header>\r\n\n\n\n<p>What makes Washington State University&#8217;s Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture stand out from the crowd for those looking to get a degree?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We ask mechanical engineering major Cameron Penrod for his thoughts on what makes WSU such a special place.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\" wsu-overlap wsu-spacing-after--xxmedium\">\r\n\t<div class=\"wsu-overlap__container\">\r\n\t\t\n<div class=\" wsu-overlap__column  wsu-overlap--surface-column\">\r\n    <div class=\"wsu-overlap__column-inner\">\r\n        \n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large  wsu-image--style-framed\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"792\" height=\"935\" src=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-vcea\/uploads\/sites\/3466\/2026\/04\/Cameron-Penrod-scaled-e1776197353886-792x935.jpg\" alt=\"Cameron Penrod.\" class=\"wp-image-10118\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-vcea\/uploads\/sites\/3466\/2026\/04\/Cameron-Penrod-scaled-e1776197353886-792x935.jpg 792w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-vcea\/uploads\/sites\/3466\/2026\/04\/Cameron-Penrod-scaled-e1776197353886-396x467.jpg 396w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-vcea\/uploads\/sites\/3466\/2026\/04\/Cameron-Penrod-scaled-e1776197353886-768x906.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-vcea\/uploads\/sites\/3466\/2026\/04\/Cameron-Penrod-scaled-e1776197353886-1302x1536.jpg 1302w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-vcea\/uploads\/sites\/3466\/2026\/04\/Cameron-Penrod-scaled-e1776197353886-168x198.jpg 168w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-vcea\/uploads\/sites\/3466\/2026\/04\/Cameron-Penrod-scaled-e1776197353886.jpg 1388w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 792px) 100vw, 792px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n    <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\n\n<div class=\" wsu-overlap__column  wsu-overlap--surface-column wsu-overlap--overlap-xxmedium\">\r\n    <div class=\"wsu-overlap__column-inner\">\r\n        \n\n<div style=\"height:70px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer wsu-hide--tablet\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wsu-container wsu-dropshadow--medium wsu-color-background--white wsu-spacing-top--xmedium wsu-spacing-padding-right--xmedium wsu-spacing-padding-left--xmedium wsu-spacing-bottom--sxxsmall\" >\r\n    \n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Major: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/degrees.wsu.edu\/degree\/mechanical-engineering\/\">Mechanical Engineering<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>High School:<\/strong> Glacier Peak High School<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Hometown:<\/strong> Snohomish, WA<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\n\t<\/div> \r\n<\/div>\r\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading  wsu-font-size--large\">What has been your favorite class or program that you have been involved with at WSU?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>ME 416 (Capstone) Getting to work on a real project over the course of 4 months is second to none in the classes I have taken here when it comes to how much I learned and how much I enjoyed the class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading  wsu-font-size--large\">What clubs are you involved in on campus?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The<a href=\"https:\/\/hub.wsu.edu\/aerospace\/\"> Palouse Aerospace Club<\/a>, where I have taken on multiple leadership roles. It has provided me with a lot of experience and learning opportunities in project management, leadership, project\/organizational finance, and, marketing. These are all valuable skills that engineers don&#8217;t get as much practice in. I would strongly recommend that all students get involved in clubs and work to become officers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-vcea\/uploads\/sites\/3466\/2026\/04\/DSC_7198-792x528.jpg\" alt=\"Six students stand at an outdoor booth displaying model rockets.\" class=\"wp-image-10132\" width=\"792\" height=\"528\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-vcea\/uploads\/sites\/3466\/2026\/04\/DSC_7198-792x528.jpg 792w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-vcea\/uploads\/sites\/3466\/2026\/04\/DSC_7198-396x264.jpg 396w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-vcea\/uploads\/sites\/3466\/2026\/04\/DSC_7198-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-vcea\/uploads\/sites\/3466\/2026\/04\/DSC_7198-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-vcea\/uploads\/sites\/3466\/2026\/04\/DSC_7198-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-vcea\/uploads\/sites\/3466\/2026\/04\/DSC_7198-198x132.jpg 198w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 792px) 100vw, 792px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cameron (third from right) and other student members of Palouse Aerospace holding the two rockets built by their club.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading  wsu-font-size--large\">Have you participated in any internships related to your field of study?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Last summer I completed an internship with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.snopud.com\/\">Snohomish PUD<\/a> (SnoPUD). This was related to my interest in Power distribution and was very insightful. SnoPUD is a great company with a strong focus on safety and doing things the right way. I feel that I learned a great deal there over the last few months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading  wsu-font-size--large\">Why would you recommend attending Washington State University?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I would recommend WSU for two main reasons. One, the student quality of life is very good here compared to other universities. This is backed up by multiple top ten finishes in <a href=\"https:\/\/news.wsu.edu\/news\/2025\/08\/15\/wsu-shines-in-princeton-review-rankings-secures-top-spot-for-student-satisfaction\/\">Princeton Review student rankings<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, WSU does more in professional development than a lot of other schools. WSU offers multiple career fairs, an internship fair, career\/industry talks, resume help, interview prep, and industry connections for internship and job opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading  wsu-font-size--large\">What advice do you have for fellow or prospective students?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol>\n<li>Attend classes. If you have questions, ask.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use all resources (Tutors, Office Hours, MLC, Friends).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Don&#8217;t buy the textbooks unless you absolutely have to.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Have to confidence to reach out for opportunities (be assertive).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Network early and often.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Join a club as soon as possible.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cameron Penrod is a mechanical engineering student graduating in May 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14162,"featured_media":10118,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[570],"tags":[597],"wsuwp_university_location":[332],"wsuwp_university_org":[504,443],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/student-success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10117"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/student-success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/student-success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/student-success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14162"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/student-success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10117"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/student-success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10139,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/student-success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10117\/revisions\/10139"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/student-success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/student-success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/student-success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/student-success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10117"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/student-success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_location?post=10117"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_org","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/student-success\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_org?post=10117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}