Husky 100

July 2, 2019

Student Stories: Shawnna Marcelino Cabanday

Shawnna Marcelino Cabanday

Mukilteo, WA2019 Husky 100 Shawnna Cabanday
B.S., Electrical Engineering

Year awarded 2019

I applied for Husky 100 because I wanted to recognize and reflect on the journey that the University of Washington has provided for me. My time as a Husky has helped me transform into the best version of myself and it has helped me realize that anything I want to achieve is possible. 

My Husky 100 experience was a collection of unsureness and challenge that evolved into personal triumph. I was fueled to find passion in leadership activities and establishing an inclusive community despite moments of vulnerability and feelings of helplessness in my male-dominated engineering courses. 

Throughout my Husky Experience, I was heavily involved in research, leadership, and mentorship roles for study abroad and younger children. I traveled to Japan last summer to develop a lighting control system operated by a battery-less, wireless sensor network. Through the unplanned spontaneity of studying abroad and living in a state of unfamiliarity, I recognized my broader role as a multipolar citizen of the globe rather than as a lone female engineer. It was through the collection of past moments of unsureness and challenge that I was able to realize the true heart of my Husky Experience: to not exist in dread of who I am, but to live in celebration of who I can become.

My greatest mentor that was a part of my journey at UW every step of the way was my father, Noel Cabanday Sr., who passed away last month on April 20, 2019. He always told me, “Shawnna, as long as you put your heart into it, YOU CAN DO IT!” Along with his inspiration, I am grateful for my mother, brothers, friends, extended family, and my professor, Dr. Hussein.