The Florida Polytechnic University experience has been transformative for Prisca Chavannes ’25. She arrived as a quiet freshman from Lehigh Acres, Florida, and has grown into a confident and driven campus leader. As she prepares to graduate on Sunday, May 4, with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, Chavannes is poised to pursue her long-term goals of shaping the future of power systems and nuclear energy.
Chavannes said she’s most excited to see the pride and joy on her parents’ faces as she receives her degree and prepares to begin a master’s program this fall. “My dad started bragging a whole year ago. When he sees my grades, he goes around to like 50 people’s houses and it’s like, ‘Look at this! Straight A’s!’”
I was very into Supergirl when I was younger and when the character Lena Luthor came up, she had engineering degrees and was a billionaire who had her own company and was able to create her own devices on the fly. When the superheroes needed something to save the world, she was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll have that in three hours,’ and I wanted to be that; I wanted to be an engineer. Later, I saw how everyone wanted to advance renewable and alternative energy, so that pulled me toward the electrical side of it.
That’s being able to come out of my shell. I’m a very quiet person; a homebody and very nervous to talk to people. But working in Admissions, where I guide 50-plus people through a tour around campus, really boosted my confidence. I used to be so meek when I started leading tours, but now I love doing the most embarrassing stuff because parents love that. I once was like, ‘Are you ready to rock ’n’ roll?’ It’s all about guiding them through so they’re engaged with the entire tour.
It means so, so much. In my family, I’m part of the generation that’s pursuing law, engineering and psychology degrees – degrees that our parents brag to our relatives in Haiti about. It’s so great that my parents are very proud of me. They say, ‘That’s why we came to this country – so you guys could build a legacy here.’ And that’s what we’re doing; we’re building this whole legacy of intellectuals and high achievers.
It absolutely was Circuits One with Dr. (Muhammad) Ullah. Circuits One is the foundation of electrical engineering. It took me from just taking those core classes to learning how anything with power or electronics works. It taught me that I love doing anything with circuits. Whenever I have a class that has me do anything with circuits, I’m just like, that’s what I was taught; I love this. It’s my favorite part.
I feel very prepared to go to grad school – Florida Poly has been a challenge. I did dual college enrollment in high school and even went to in-person classes – not just online – and going from that college to this university was humbling. Everybody’s here just for one thing, a STEM degree, and it really taught me how to focus more on classes. Before, I could finish homework in less than an hour. Here, it’s a three-day thing, but I’m actually learning and grasping the information. Florida Poly has taught me how to focus and put in a lot of work.
Get out and make friends. Even though freshman year might be your hardest year, you’re setting that foundation and studying hard. Having a group of friends is going to make things so much easier. Not knowing anybody and just having all this coursework is really hard. But when I started going places with people, it took so much weight off my shoulders.
Editor’s note: This story is part of a series of Q&As featuring Florida Poly Class of 2025 graduates.
Contact:
Lydia Guzmán
Director of Communications
863-874-8557
