Natalia Esparragoza, a manufacturing engineer at the Jacksonville State University (Jax State) Center for Manufacturing Support in Jacksonville, Alabama, felt it was her calling to review scholarship applications for the SME Education Foundation. “I wanted to give back to the community and try to support the future students who might serve our industry right now,” she says.
Esparragoza, 29, heard about the online scholarship reviewer program through an email from SME, and says the process was very simple and flexible once she got all the information. “I was able to make my own schedule, and there weren’t super-hard deadlines,” she says. “I thought dedicating just a couple of hours of my time — but creating a lasting impact on the student who applied — was worth it. To me, it was a very rewarding experience.”
A native of Venezuela, Esparragoza has been based in the Jacksonville area since 2014 and says she has been interested in manufacturing her whole life.
“I always knew I wanted to be an engineer, and I was always fascinated by how things were made,” she says. “So I was always interested in finding out more, and being immersed in each industry, if possible, to see how each component or each item needed to be handled in order to have an end product.”
In later years, Esparragoza studied applied manufacturing engineering design and automation at Jax State, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree. She also earned a Master of Science degree in manufacturing systems technology from the university. In addition, she received a certification in additive manufacturing fundamentals from SME.
In her current role as manufacturing engineer at Jax State’s Center for Manufacturing Support — which she has been in for almost six years — Esparragoza helps advance engineering practices in regional industries to strengthen the region’s manufacturing sector while providing practical learning experiences for Jax State students. Previously, she was an adjunct instructor for the school’s department of applied engineering for almost four years.
After participating in SME’s scholarship review process, Esparragoza thinks of it as a win-win situation for prospective reviewers. “I would say we are directly helping the students, and, by being able to use our expertise and a little of our time, we are supporting and identifying the future individuals who will be in STEM fields. So you not only get the rewarding experience of that and shaping your field, but you also get connected to a little bit of everything — a network, support, future generations and self-development opportunities.”
In summary, Esparragoza says she will definitely volunteer to be a scholarship reviewer again. “I was once a student, and I know how important it is to have support from organizations and people who are looking into enhancing the field.”
