Terp Q&A: Eva Alexandrova

The Spring 2021 issue of ONE MARYLAND Magazine will arrive soon in the mailboxes of Terrapin Club members. ONE MARYLAND features stories of strength and perseverance, of determination and spirit. These stories define our athletics program, and this new magazine will allow us to share these stories with you. Over the next few weeks, we will be rolling out some of these stories on umterps.com as a preview of what you will find in ONE MARYLAND. To receive future issues of the magazine when they debut, please join the Terrapin Club. We hope you enjoy.

Maddie Kyler caught up with senior tennis player Eva Alexandrova to talk about her journey from Russia to America, majoring in aerospace engineering and her future ambitions.

What has it been like to come to the U.S. to get an education?

Coming to America from Moscow, Russia, was definitely a challenge because I was not sure what awaited me. Overall, the education system is different compared to what I have experienced back at home in the sense of class format, weekly assignments, and midterm exams. In addition to that, I went through a big “culture shock” the first semester of my freshman year in terms of language, communication, lifestyle, and cultural differences. 

Nevertheless, coming to the U.S. to get an education and be a part of the varsity tennis team was super exciting. I was very lucky because when I came here my best friend Kate Yemelyanenka, who is from Minsk, Belarus, was already on the team a year ahead of me. For the most part, she was my mentor in terms of helping me with time management and assisting me with smoothly transitioning from playing just for myself on the court, into being a team member on a tennis team. Since we were both coming from the same cultural background, she could anticipate what challenges I could encounter as an international student. She was there for me to help and support me.

You’re an Aerospace Engineering major - as of last year, 88 percent of those who graduated from Maryland with the same degree were male, how does it feel to be a female in a male-dominated industry?

Knowing that there are only 12 percent of women who graduate with an aerospace degree is very shocking to a lot of people, however, I am not that surprised because Engineering in general is a male-dominated career. It can be tough at times because the men in the classes will try to “mansplain” or will not let you speak. Sometimes it can be discouraging because there are not that many people like you in the classroom. However, when you do find groups of girls you can work with, your experience becomes elevated. You are with people who understand where you are coming from and you are comfortable sharing ideas. This also fuels me and makes me more competitive in the classroom because I want to show that I can be on top of the class.

What is it like to balance your education and play a Division I level sport? 

To be able to balance the life of a Division I athlete while also being in the engineering program is a hard task. Being a Division I athlete is hard enough but to be in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) is a different world because we have so many labs and exams, and projects. All of these things make it harder to have a good school schedule and a lot of the time we miss these things when we travel on the road. I balance it by staying organized and keeping track of all my assignments and matches. I also try to create good relationships with my professors going to office hours and answering questions during the classes, so they see I am engaged with the work we are doing. Balancing it also comes from having a good support system whether it be a group of friends that can send you the notes or good teammates who will encourage you to study while on the road.

What are your career plans?

I plan to be at Maryland for five years academically and graduate with my bachelor’s degree in the spring of 2022. Last summer I was a recipient of an AEROS (Aerospace Engineering Research Opportunity Scholars Program) award, where I worked for professors Dr. Interjit Chopra and Dr. V.T. Nagaraj in the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center on the Gamera-S Solar Helicopter research project at the University of Maryland. This semester I am a teaching assistant for the Aerospace Structures course which is a junior-level course in the aerospace major. 

When I got into A. James Clark School of Engineering I became a member of the Women in Aeronautics and Astronautics (WIAA) Society, and currently I am applying to become a part of the board of the society for the next year. The WIAA organization’s goal is to empower women with opportunities for leadership, technical and professional development, networking, outreach, and advocacy on behalf of female students.

At the moment I am on the verge of either continuing my education and pursuing a master’s degree in aerospace engineering with a focus in Structural Mechanics and Ccomposites or going and getting my experience in the industry. Longterm, since I am focused on the air track, my targeted companies would be ones that work on producing commercial planes or private jets as well as helicopters.