Wartburg set me up for success

Misha Seebeck ’22 broke his family’s legacy of going to Iowa State to come to Wartburg, knowing it was the only place where he could explore all his interests.

“There is a lineage of Iowa State, and here is me just breaking that chain. I am so fortunate to be able to have these opportunities at Wartburg. I chose Wartburg because it offered three of my biggest passions: engineering, soccer, and music. Not many institutions are able to offer all three of those things at a specific place,” Seebeck said.

Seebeck, who comes from a line of design-oriented individuals, was impressed by the hands-on experience. Those within the engineering program receive hands-on experience in the design courses their freshman, junior, and senior years.

“I feel like I had very good experiences throughout the years taking those classes, because a lot of times you learn a lot more doing hands-on experience. It has been nice to go through a methodology with our engineering department and look at a design process through different facets. You are not just tinkering about all day; you are thinking about the cost-benefit analysis of the various customers that could be affected by your product. I have really loved the engineering curriculum here, especially those design courses,” Seebeck said.

Seebeck was also able to pursue his other interests by playing for the soccer team and as a French horn for the Wartburg Community Symphony for the past four years. Wartburg Community Symphony comprises Wartburg College students and community and professional musicians performing old favorites and new music since 1952. The Symphony in its time has gained attention for its state, national, and world premieres.

“I think the variety that Wartburg offers is really something that allowed me to balance all of the facets of my life here. I am in Wartburg Community Orchestra, and it is nice to have that just on Mondays and Thursdays. It is a good window to just relax and put off all the stress of engineering and soccer. They do a great job of working with students, especially the coaches. It is academics first,” Seebeck said.

On top of being involved in soccer and music, Seebeck also has a double minor in math and Spanish. Seebeck has been interested in Spanish since he began learning it in eighth grade at his school in Coalfax, Iowa. For his math minor, he saw it as only natural to add to his degree.

“It was nice because the math classes overlapped with the engineering curriculum. There were like three to four requirements for the engineering program. For me, as an engineer, it is almost necessary to have a math minor to have that experience under my belt,” Seebeck said.

All his work seems to have paid off, as Seebeck is set to begin work at Pella Corporation as a process engineer once he graduates. He has high hopes for his move into the work force using the skills he has developed at Wartburg, which he thinks will help him throughout his life.

“There are certain things that are applicable to engineering, and there are certain things that are applicable to anything you do. Being able to articulate your messages properly and present yourself professionally, Wartburg really invests in those soft skills. You are really set up for success by the end as a well-rounded individual,” Seebeck said.