Ash has worked to develop a real-time musical system that senses the location of colored blocks to create music; originally a masters thesis project at Cornell.
As a high school student, Ash Walker was already jumping hurdles to be deeply involved in engineering. Going to an all-girls Texas high school that didn't offer the engineering class she wanted to take, Ash managed to enroll in the course at her brother's school, despite not getting credit for her work. There, she helped develop a real-time musical system that senses the location of colored blocks to create music; originally a masters thesis project at Cornell. She also overcame the expectations of many of her peers to lead her BEST robotics team to victory in her hub competition, earning a 17th-place finish (out of 60 teams) and her team's first visit to the state competition. In addition, Ash is fascinated by particle physics, and often astounds people with her depth of knowledge on the subject. Not to be confined just to math and science however, Ash also rides horses to escape the rigors of schoolwork and has developed an interest in history.
On her first visit to Olin, Ash was struck by the friendliness of the Olin community when students voluntarily introduced themselves to her, including her in a way that she didn't find at other engineering schools. She says that Olin “is the most normal engineering school I visited.”
Ash thoroughly enjoys the fact that Olin students have a wide array of interests beyond academics, and that they pursue and share their passions daily.
Now a part of the community that she admired as a prospective student, Ash is excited to get involved in the many activities that Olin offers. She hopes to help shape the dynamic curriculum that will pull engineering higher education out of what she perceives as stagnation, and in the process to develop her own skills in better preparation for life in the “real world.” In addition to academics, Ash is trying to join Wellesley College's equestrian team and will also work with Olin's FIRST robotics team. She does not have a fully set academic plan, but Ash does know that she wants to make a difference in the world, and will do whatever she needs to in order to make sure that that happens.
