Once-in-a-lifetime cab ride

Tamerate Tadesse is a SCADA automation engineer but started his career as an airport taxi driver.

“I like to talk to people, I like to ask questions,” says Tadesse, a 2015 electrical engineering graduate. One day, Tadesse gave Peter Desloge, chairman and CEO of Watlow Electric Manufacturing Co., a ride to his home.

After seeing Tadesse’s adapted laptop charger, Desloge inquired about Tadesse’s hobbies and plans for the future. Tadesse told Desloge he has always enjoyed fixing things, especially electronics. Desloge encouraged Tadesse to pursue engineering, and even shared some of his own experience with his cab driver.

“Something clicked in my mind,” he says. “It was kind of a miracle for me.” The chance experience encouraged Tadesse to further his education and study engineering at S&T. He still keeps Desloge’s business card in his wallet for good luck.

Share This Story

Spark a Memory?

Share your story! Fill out the form below to share your fondest memory or anecdote of S&T. If you'd prefer not typing, you can also share by phone at 833-646-3715 (833-Miner150).

Nick Swanson and Julia Ingram

Nick Swanson and Julia Ingram

Although Nick Swanson and Julia Ingram met during an informational meeting for FRC Robotics during high school back in 2011,…

Builders of the bomb

Builders of the bomb

The U.S. government’s Manhattan Project, which led to the development of the first nuclear weapons, was a massive but highly…

Non-stop innovation

Non-stop innovation

Dan Scott, a 1970 metallurgical engineering graduate, holds more than 100 patents and has dozens more patents pending. The technical…

For the love of circuits

For the love of circuits

Emily Hernandez, who earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 2016, began recruiting minorities to STEM fields even before…

Chloe Howenstein-Heskin and Shayne Heskin

Chloe Howenstein-Heskin and Shayne Heskin

Chloe Howenstein-Heskin and Shayne Heskin met during the spring semester of their freshman year in 2011. The two were part…

Titanoboa – reptile king of the prehistoric rainforest

Titanoboa – reptile king of the prehistoric rainforest

Sixty million years ago in the steamy prehistoric forests of what is now Colombia, there slithered a 50-foot, 2,500-pound reptile….