Michael Regotti
Michael Regotti
Class Year
’19
Current home
Lockport, Illinois
Major(s)
Chemistry and Physics
Current Position
Graduate Student at the University of Oregon
During his time at Carthage, Michael Regotti ’19 was the recipient of the John H. Lyons Sr. Scholarship and the Carthage College Faculty Honors Scholarship. The former Carthage Chemistry Department Service Fellow is now a graduate student at the University of Oregon, where he is enrolled in the Master Industrial Internship Program.
Mr. Regotti believes he is excelling in his current program because the skills he gained at Carthage, especially writing, gave him an advantage over the students he works with who came from other universities.
“Writing lab reports and theses really sharpened my scientific writing, and it was immediately noticeable when doing projects with students from bigger universities!”
What have you enjoyed most about your career?
“The faculty in the Masters Industrial Internship Program are all exceptional and will always do their best to help me in my future career. The lab courses encouraged problem-solving on my own, and the right answer was often withheld for learning’s sake. It was so rewarding to fabricate a working semiconductor device with just my peers, and I feel prepared to make significant contributions in my upcoming internship.”
How did Carthage prepare you?
“The small class sizes and general education requirements really helped prepare my lab skills, learning skills, and, most importantly, my writing skills. Carthage offers direct feedback from professors that bigger schools cannot, meaning bad habits are stopped quickly. Writing was always stressed as one of the most important skills, and being at Carthage is the reason my writing is as good as it is. Writing lab reports and theses really sharpened my scientific writing, and it was immediately noticeable when doing projects with students from bigger universities!”
How has your liberal arts education benefitted you?
“During my current lab course, I was able to quickly draw important conclusions from the vast amount of data our class collected. I attribute this to the data analysis and communication skills I learned at Carthage. Tackling a lot of data at once makes it hard to know where to start and requires critical thinking to identify what is important. Effectively communicating your findings is arguably even harder, but, luckily, that was a main focus during my coursework at Carthage.”
What's your favorite Carthage memory?
“I loved hanging around the hallway of the David A. Straz Jr. Center and outside the professor’s offices with the familiar faces every day. Everyone was working together on things and helping each other. It was nice knowing most of the people around campus, and the size of the campus made it easy to make friends outside of my major. I think both of these things encouraged a stronger tight-knit community where everyone wants to help each other rather than keeping to themselves and viewing others within their major as competition.”
Tips for current Carthage students?
“A lot of people get caught up thinking they need to have a plan laid out for everything and have their whole life figured out during college. People change, and it is unreasonable to think you need to know everything at any point in your life. Just find something that interests you and try it; you’re never committed to something forever. You often learn more about yourself from trying something that you later decide isn’t right for you. Nothing will ever be a perfect fit, so don’t wait around forever trying to find it; make the most of your degree and your time!”