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).
Clued in on Jeopardy!
This Missouri S&T professor of foreign languages was once a clue on the popular TV game show Jeopardy! If you…
Float like a butterfly
Few have shared the ring with Muhammad Ali or been praised by the New York Times as “one of America’s…
Studying the past to improve the future
Katy Bloomberg, who earned her bachelor’s degree in history in 2006, believes that her experience working in S&T’s Archives prepared…
Kirstin Rigger and Holden McComb
Kirstin Rigger and Holden McComb were freshmen living in TJ Hall when they met in 2015. Holden, who lived on…
Mo Dehghani: what lies ahead
Mohammad “Mo” Dehghani, who has been chancellor at S&T since 2019, discusses what he believes...
Will Annunziata and Rebecka Connor
Will Annunziata met Rebecka Connor in January 2016 while he was home on Christmas break from his first semester at…