Troy Cates attended his first BEYA STEM Conference in Washington D.C. a few years ago. When CCG Media caught up with him earlier this week, he talked about finishing his final exams, coping with the disruption of college, and moving back home to Baltimore from Alabama A&M University.

“It was a lot of adjusting,” he said. Currently a junior at Alabama A&M, Troy is looking forward to the new year—majoring in mechanical engineering with a concentration in manufacturing, and a minor in computer science.

“Mechanical engineering is really the template for all engineering,” he explained. “It’s pretty much the base and you literally can branch out to anything. It’s needed everywhere, in any field.”

Troy thinks his future might be in systems or material engineering, but he’s still searching.  After watching a clip of himself being interviewed at the BEYA STEM Conference, here’s what he said:

“It tells a lot about me. It looks like I was quite ready. Time’s really flying and I’ve come a long way from where I was.”

Take a listen to the advice Troy would give someone starting out, and what he thinks mechanical engineers can do to help the world in a public health emergency.