For Meera Vimalaraj and Damien Butler, Cal Poly’s General Engineering program has been a way to make their education as individual as their interests. Vimalaraj, who joined the program in 2021, built her studies around sustainable building systems and water use. Butler, who started at Cal Poly in 2022 and officially moved into general engineering in January 2025, shaped his plan around systems and controls, drawing on his love of math and physics. Though their goals differ, both credit the program’s flexibility with helping them discover new directions and redefine what engineering can look like.
Meera Vimalaraj
What drew you to Cal Poly’s General Engineering program, and how has it shaped your path so far?
I chose general engineering because it let me design a path around sustainability. I wanted to focus on energy and water in building systems, and GENE was the program that let me pull the right courses together. That flexibility helped me see more career options in sustainable building design.
The GENE program allows students to customize their studies. How have you tailored yours, and why did you choose that direction?
I followed the sustainability in engineering concentration, then added water-related and project management courses so I could align more with MEP and building design. No other major here offered that same combination, so GENE let me create it.
What’s one project, class or experience through GENE that has been especially meaningful to you?
A graduate-level IME course taught by the former GENE director really stayed with me. It looked at the impact of engineering on people and systems and showed how small improvements can make a big difference. I’ve carried that mindset into other projects.
How has the program’s flexibility or support opened opportunities for you outside the classroom?
Because my coursework fits the MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) and construction industries, I was able to go to several career fairs. At one of them, I met representatives from PAE Engineers, a firm that designs sustainable MEP systems, and I interned there this past summer. It was a direct line from what I built in GENE to real projects.
What advice would you give to future students considering general engineering at Cal Poly?
Use the flexibility. The core gives you a solid base, but the value is in how you customize it. Combine areas, follow what you’re interested in and build toward a field you actually want to work in — GENE makes that possible.
You’ve been deeply involved in the program as a student assistant. How has that shaped your perspective on the GENE community?
Working with the program showed me how many different directions students take this major. We all start in the same place, but everyone builds something slightly different, and the faculty really support that.
Your passion for engineering and for the GENE program really stands out, according to your professors. Where does that passion come from, and how do you hope to use it in your future career?
It comes from caring about sustainability and how buildings use energy and water. Engineering can make those systems more efficient and better for the people in them. I hope to keep working in MEP and sustainable building design so I can help create buildings that perform well and use resources responsibly.
Damien Butler
What drew you to Cal Poly’s General Engineering program, and how has it shaped your path so far?
I actually started in mechanical engineering, but I realized over time that the kind of engineering I was most excited about was deep, math-heavy dynamic modeling, not the more traditional systems and controls focus I was on. General engineering gave me room to rebuild my plan around that. To me, engineering has such a strong connection to the physical world that you can make something happen just by understanding it well enough. That felt like magic to me, so I built a path that let me keep taking the math and physics I loved, even after switching majors in the middle of my third year.
The GENE program allows students to customize their studies. How have you tailored yours, and why did you choose that direction?
I packed my GENE plan with the most rigorous math and theory courses I could take, plus the ME and CAD classes that gave me practical skills. I wanted both — the deep understanding and the ability to actually build things. That mix has let me stay in the engineering space I care about most: using math to explain and control real systems.
What’s one project, class or experience through GENE that has been especially meaningful to you?
Vector analysis was huge for me. It opened a new way of looking at physical systems, and I’ve spent months reworking concepts through differential forms. It felt so powerful it was almost unreal. For students coming in under semesters, I’d say look for the closest equivalent — something like differential geometry — because classes like that change how you think.
How has the program’s flexibility or support opened opportunities for you outside the classroom?
What GENE did for me was take the pressure off. I could keep taking courses that fed my curiosity instead of stopping after one or two required math classes. That made me more energized about engineering overall, which is what’s driving the work I’m doing to prepare for after college.
What advice would you give to future students considering general engineering at Cal Poly?
GENE is an amazing option if you’re the kind of person who knows what you want to study and needs the freedom to build toward it. It pulls from other departments, so the program is only as strong as the classes you choose. If you’re curious, self-directed and willing to do the digging, it can be a great fit.
What kinds of opportunities have you been able to explore through the GENE program, and is there one experience that stands out as especially meaningful?
The biggest “opportunity” for me has been getting to keep going deeper — not being told, “That’s enough math.” I really appreciate that I didn’t have to stop at differential equations. That freedom is what made me stay.
As you look toward graduating in 2026, how do you see your GENE background helping you carve out your own path in engineering?
Because I built this degree so intentionally, I know how to design my own learning. That’s the skill I’m taking with me. I want to keep working in spaces where math, physics and real-world systems overlap, and GENE has shown me how to put those pieces together.
