Nathan Henault

  • ASIC Development Engineer
  • Western Digital
  • MINOR ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT
  • 2020

Biography

Nathan graduated from CU Boulder with a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering and minors in Engineering Management and Computer Science. During school, he was the electrical team lead for the school's RoboSub team, where he gained experience in PCB design and embedded systems. Nathan is currently working at as an ASIC Development Engineer.

Q&A

What made you decide to pursue a minor in Engineering Management?
I understand that the business side of the world is just as important as the engineering side and I wanted to gain an understanding of both sides. I chose the Engineering Management program over the business program because I felt like it would teach me more about business as it applied to engineering, which it did.

Why did you choose the Engineering Management Program at CU Boulder?
I was already getting my BS from CU Boulder and I had room for more classes so I decided to add the minor.

How did the program help you in your career?
It helped me as a team lead on RoboSub because I learned about planning a project and managing a team. It has also helped me keep personal projects better organized and managed.

What was your favorite graduate EMEN class/professor? Why?
My favorite class was Technology Ventures and Marketing taught by Kyle Judah. This class felt very practical for anyone interested in starting their own business and Kyle's passion as a teacher made the content even more enjoyable. I feel like this class really taught me about what is important when creating a project and a company from scratch and complimented my engineering education very well.

What advice would you give a new student in the program?
Think about what you want out of the program before starting on it. There are some classes you have to take, but the electives offer such a wide variety of knowledge that focusing them on what interests you is key to getting something out of the degree.

How would you summarize your experience with the program? 
At first it felt like a chore, but once the required classes were gone and I got to take the classes which interest me I found the content much more enjoyable and applicable to my goals.