FINDING BALANCE WITH EAMON WHALEN
CURRENT POSITION: Application Engineer at Altair Engineering
LOCATION: Boston, Massachusetts
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN DEGREE: Mechanical Engineering
GRADUATION YEAR: 2016
ACTIVITIES AT MICHIGAN: Michigan Pops Orchestra, IM Soccer, Michigan Engineering Common Reading Experience
MICHIGAN POPS ORCHESTRA INSTRUMENT: French Horn
Listen to one of Eamon's favorite Pops classics while you read about his Pops Life!
A CONVERSATION WITH EAMON
KELLY COMPTON, our Pops Life correspondent, talks with Eamon about his Michigan experience and how the Pops helped him find that important balance he needed in his life.
KC: Eamon, tell us about your musical background before coming to Michigan!
EW: When I was really young, I picked out a CD with my mom. I didn’t know what to choose, so the store gave me a CD of Mozart’s Horn Concertos. I listened to that throughout my childhood, so when it came time to pick an instrument in 6th grade, I chose horn. I started taking lessons in 6th grade, and I loved it.
KC: When you first got to Michigan, what attracted you to the Michigan Pops Orchestra initially?
EW: A fellow Pops member who was a year above me in high school told me about the orchestra before I even got to U of M. I joined both Pops and the Campus Symphony Orchestra at first, though I did Pops for all four years.
KC: Tell me about your experience with Pops, and share some favorite memories!
EW: My experience was fantastic! It was hands down one of the best parts of college for me – I think anyone else in Pops would agree. The music was fantastic (I had never played in an ensemble that sounded that good!), I loved the songs that we were choosing, and I loved that we played such a diverse repertoire, from classics to video game/movie soundtracks to more obscure pieces that no one had heard of. The orchestra really brought any type of music alive. The social aspect of Pops was equally as important. I met so many fun characters in that orchestra! I remember it became kind of a tradition for all of the French horns to go out and get Indian food together – that was definitely one of my favorite memories.
KC: Where are you now? How do you think the Pops Orchestra influenced where you are today?
EW: I work for a company called Altair Engineering, which makes simulation software. We might want to simulate something like a car crash. So rather than smashing an actual car every day (which is very expensive), we can instead simulate what would happen in a car crash in a computer. We can then add additional scenarios and evaluate the outcomes, such as what would happen if a child was in the front seat of the car. We can also look at things like medical technology or what would happen if an airplane flies through a hurricane. I’m an application engineer, and I teach people about structural analysis.
When I came to U of M, I intended on joining one of the prestigious engineering teams, like the solar car team. There are a lot of prestigious clubs like this at Michigan where outside of their coursework, students are making really cool things and subsequently they tend to get really great jobs, etc. However, I quickly realized that with my engineering coursework, given how much time I was spending in class and office hours doing all engineering-related work, the thing that I wanted the most and probably needed the most was something totally opposite. Pops throughout college served as a counterbalance for me, allowing me to transition from a technical mindset to a creative activity. I loved being able to leave all of that every Sunday to just unwind and play and be expressive. I think that was really healthy for me. I wouldn’t say Pops necessarily influenced what job I took, but I do think it is important for an engineer (or anyone with a difficult major/career!) to be involved in some sort of creative outlet.
KC: What advice would you give to students interested in a similar career path?
EW: I would just say to take a deep breath. If you’re following in a career path that’s similar to mine or are just generally interested in going the engineering route, just remember that you’re coming from a very good program at U of M. As long as you work hard and take advantage of opportunities, you’re going to be fine. Also, don’t let the stress or the complexity associated with finding an engineering job get to you, and don’t let that take over your life. Find a counterbalance and a creative outlet, like in Pops. This is important not just in college, but also after you leave college. It certainly becomes harder to find opportunities like Pops after graduation.
KC: What does the Pops mean to you personally?
EW: Pops goes beyond just exploring our own creativity, because it actually allows us to share that creativity with other people. There are a handful of activities where you’re able to express yourself, but how many of those are centered around taking that self-expression and sharing it with a room full of people, with an audience? I always thought that was really cool.
Pops has the ability to take some very technical classical work and make it accessible and relatable. We make videos so kids can enjoy the music too, and we set up an orchestra on the Diag so people can feel what it’s like to conduct an orchestra. It goes past self-expression, it’s also about teaching people to experience our own passions.
EAMON'S FAVORITES
- MOVIE OF ALL TIME: Pan’s Labyrinth
- BAND: Alabama Shakes
- SNACK: Peanut butter stuffed pretzels
- RESTAURANTS IN A2 AND BOSTON: Ann Arbor: Mani Osteria. Boston: Toro
- PLACE IN THE WORLD TO VISIT: San Sebastian, Spain
- POPS PIECE: "Jupiter" from The Planets
- CHARITABLE CAUSE: Citizens' Climate Lobby
9/1/17