Calvin Li

My name is Calvin Li, and I am a 2024 graduate of the Cyber Physical Systems Engineering (CPSE) program through the University of Maryland, College Park’s A. James Clark School of Engineering at the Universities at Shady Grove (USG). My journey into engineering began in high school with Project Lead the Way courses that introduced me to digital logic, CAD modeling, and critical thinking for design challenges. 

After graduating high school, I enrolled at Montgomery College (MC) while working part-time as a server to support myself. Balancing a full course load with work was tough — especially when some early electrical engineering classes felt draining and uninspiring. I even considered quitting. But thanks to the encouragement of some wise friends, I stayed the course.

One friend in particular emphasized the need to have a passion for engineering. He spoke about how much he enjoyed using a digital multimeter and troubleshooting circuits. At the time, I hadn’t yet found my own spark — but that changed during my last year at MC when I took an intermediate programming course in C. Learning to code just clicked and I found joy in crafting efficient and elegant code. 

I chose the CPSE program at USG because it combines hardware and software — exactly the kind of multidisciplinary work that excites me. The program pushed me to grow, from late-night lab reports to long coding sessions that left my hands sore. I gained hands-on experience with FPGA, computer architecture, firmware development, and more. It’s a program well-suited for aspiring engineers who want to explore the intersection of computer and electrical engineering.
One of the highlights from my time at USG was a firmware course I took with Dr. Wu, where I learned to program an ARM chip and apply knowledge from earlier classes in a meaningful, practical way.

During my final year, I interned at the Army Research Lab, where I worked with microcontrollers, programming, and equipment calibration. It was a powerful validation of the skills I developed through the CPSE program.

Having now graduated, I’m setting my sights on earning a master’s degree in firmware or electrical and computer engineering, from either College Park or Johns Hopkins University, with a focus on collaborating with the Army Research Lab. Long-term, I hope to contribute to innovative hardware and firmware projects at companies like Tesla or Nvidia, contributing to their groundbreaking consumer-grade products.