Engaging Future Engineers: Statler College alumnus finds rewarding mentorship opportunities
West Virginia University Purpose Center Outreach Manager Cate Schlobohm describes
her work at WVU with three simple words: find your purpose. Her commitment to it
doesn’t end with college students — she signed her son Joe up to learn all kinds
of new principles at last year’s elementary Engineering Challenge Camps, where
he told us he wants to be a Tesla maker.
Story by Kaley LaQuea, Communications Specialist
Video produced by Kaley LaQuea
Seven-year-old Joe is a big fan of Tesla. So when Statler College alumnus Gbolahan “Bugzy” Idowu — Tesla engineer and former mentee of Cate’s — heard that Joe loved Tesla, he sent him a special surprise: a custom Roadster model.
After graduating from the Statler College with a bachelor's degree in petroleum and natural gas engineering and a master's degree in mechanical engineering, Idowu’s career led him to Tesla. He started as an equipment engineer in 2018, and has since moved onto an associate manager role in production engineering, overseeing a team working on batteries and other energy products. Now with a blossoming career, he’s busier than ever. But for Idowu, the resilience he learned at WVU played a key role in his career and education success.
“School prepares you for the real world in different ways. Right now I'm the busiest I've been, but I've been prepped for this,” Idowu said. “When I say I’m busy now, I think of the semesters where I had 21 credit hours, I was an RA and a graduate assistant. I love the resilience I gained to juggle priorities. Knowing I’ve been through that type of grit and now going through similar — WVU gave me that preparation to be ready for this time.”
Idowu says the passion he has for being a mentor to Joe all stems from the guidance he received from Schlobohm as a student.
“I was maybe not as young as Joe, but when I was going through undergrad and especially when I was trying to come back for my master’s, Cate was that mentor for me. I always say this, but I don’t think I tell her enough — my coming back to WVU for my master’s would not have been possible without Cate. So this is in a sense full circle – part of me wants to give back to Joe because I received that from Cate.”
Mentoring Idowu was an equally rewarding and informative experience for Schlobohm.
“I think it's pretty special,” Schlobohm said of Idowu’s mentor connection with Joe. “[Idowu] has always held a special place in my heart. He taught me as much as he’s saying I taught him. He was someone I met early in my career and he helped me figure out how to help our students the best.”
Schlobohm said even though she wasn’t an engineer, Idowu showed her she could be impactful “by helping connect them and helping make them feel seen and heard and making sure they understood they were individuals and connecting them to what they needed.”
Statler College’s K-12 community outreach is forging the next generation of engineers by providing mentorship opportunities just like this one.
Last year’s Girls' STEM Day hosted more than 250 students from around the state, while the 2023 Pumpkin Drop event saw over 1,000 K-12 participants from more than 50 schools. Programs like the Challenge Camps and Next Generation STEM Day get students excited through hands-on experiences, making the world of engineering and computer science more accessible by connecting them with experienced mentors, alumni and peers.