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The Dean’s Office Social Media Reporters (DOSMR) play an important role for the College of Engineering. These undergraduate and graduate students tell the stories that no staff or faculty member can—through Instagram photos, Facebook posts, and Snapchat stories, a wide audience can experience what it is like to be an engineering student at Carnegie Mellon University today.

Ricky Gupta and Shraiy Gupta, two of the fall 2017 DOSMRs, have a lot in common outside of their surnames. Both of these first-year students from New Jersey are hoping to pursue biomedical engineering (BME) as a secondary focus. R. Gupta wants to pair BME with electrical and computer engineering, S. Gupta with chemical engineering. Emily Wu, a sophomore from Connecticut who declared for mechanical engineering last year, was another fall 2017 DOSMR.

[As a prospective student] I followed CMU Engineering, CMU Admissions, and CMU in general on both Instagram and Facebook.

Ricky Gupta, First year, College of Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University

Whether they found out about the DOSMR program through an academic advisor, from friends, or just by seeing a poster in a hallway, all of our reporters have relevant interests or background.

“I was in the school newspaper in high school, so journalism is an interest of mine,” says R. Gupta.

“I like Instagram, editing photos, taking photos,” adds Wu, “so it made sense for me to get involved.”

Once a student has completed the application process and been accepted to the DOSMR program, our requests for are straightforward: send us about one post a week with the hashtag #cmuengineering on social media. The content: up to them.

The aspects of student life the DOSMRs showcase vary by their tastes and interests. Some DOSMRs attend larger events such as demo days and poster sessions, while others focus in on small slice-of-life moments that engineering students experience. In any moment, our students could be witnessing the prototypes of groundbreaking technologies.

“I post things that make me go ‘woah,’” says Wu. “Even something as simple as a friend doodling cars can be impressive to me.”

I post things that make me go ‘woah.’ Even something as simple as a friend doodling cars can be impressive to me.

Emily Wu, Sophomore, Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University

S. Gupta adds, “I snap photos at small social activities: studying, hanging out after a hard day, that kind of thing.”

“I report on bigger gatherings and events,” says R. Gupta. “I’ve also been going to poster sessions, including my sister’s presentation on machine learning.”

Each DOSMR uses their own blend of social media platforms to engage with the university, document cool engineering, and share their co-curricular interests. S. Gupta keeps track of prominent car companies on Instagram and Wu shares highlights from her work in Dancers’ Symposium, a student-run dance organization here at Carnegie Mellon. R. Gupta made use of social media before he was even enrolled. “I followed CMU Engineering, CMU Admissions, and CMU in general on both Instagram and Facebook,” he explains.

The DOSMR program started in the fall of 2016. Not only do our reporters get to use this assignment as co-curricular credit for one of their Experiential Learning activities, they also will be able to compile a portfolio of their social media reports that reflect their time at Carnegie Mellon. The reporters also get the opportunity to talk to any prospective students who message them about being in engineering.

I would like to report more on what upperclassmen are doing, like in capstone courses. I feel like that’s where a lot of the innovation is; that’s where we’re creating the future.

Shraiy Gupta, First year, College of Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University

As the semester and 2017 come to an end, the DOSMRs are finishing up finals and heading home, but after a well-earned break, they will be returning in the spring semester to bring the organic engineering student experience to life. S. Gupta mentions, “I also want to see what upperclassmen are doing, like in their capstones. I feel like that’s where a lot of the innovation is; that’s where we’re creating the future.”

We are grateful to have these students share their moments with us and we look forward to plenty of fun and inspiring posts in the new year!

For media inquiries, or inquiries on how to become a Dean’s Office Social Media Reporter, contact E. Forney at eforney@cmu.edu.