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).
Rosalie (Larson) and Stan Hadley
Rosalie (Larson) and Stan Hadley met one Friday in September 1977 in TJ Hall. Rosalie’s roommate was a lab partner…
Genevieve (DuBois) and Greg Sutton
Active in the mining industry and the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Genevieve (DuBois) and Greg Sutton first met…
Bringing water to those in need
As co-founder of Water.org, Gary White has helped empower more than 29 million people worldwide with access to safe water…
Going nuclear
Missouri S&T is home to the state’s first nuclear reactor. Operational since 1961 and one of only three nuclear reactors…
Making the perfect snacks
Frito-Lay’s Topeka, Kansas, plant operates 24 hours a day, so while most of us are sleeping, Catherine Swift, a 2010…
Stonehenge, ‘tis a magic place…’
When the band Spinal Tap sang of Stonehenge as a “magic place … where the moon doth rise with a…