Philip Persson wants to use the skills he learned at UALR to improve harsh living conditions like the ones he saw growing up in Turkey. His father was an English teacher there, and he worked to build a school and a church during his free time.

“Outside of the country, some people don’t have clean water. They may not have electricity,” he said. “Sometimes kids have to work to support their families, keeping them from going to school.”

Having lived outside the U.S. with his missionary family until the age of 10, he knew that not everyone enjoyed the freedom to control their own fate. He said he appreciated the metropolitan area around UALR where people could make what they wanted out of life.

“As I looked at colleges, I was disenchanted with the idea of college as an artificial society of people who hadn’t been in the real world,” he said. “I liked that this was not a party school, and after seeing some of the connections graduates had made and the positive interaction, it was clear that people were focused on making an impact.”

Since the summer of 2012, Persson has designed three-dimensional models and created digital drawings for machines used to make and assemble parts for Caterpillar, a Fortune 500 company he said has cornered the global market on earthmoving and mining equipment.

He received his B.S. degree in systems engineering on Dec. 20, and the company offered him a full-time position updating digital drawings of the 788,000-square-foot plant after graduation.

He said one of the best things about his degree is the ability to use his mechanical skills to make the world a better place.

Caterpillar has a facility in Rayong, Thailand, where Persson also has a friend who harvests rice for an orphanage.

“I’d like to transfer to the facility there so I can do philanthropic work in my free time,” he said. “I want to support myself with engineering and allow others to have the opportunities that I had.”

Persson is practiced in helping others. During his time at UALR, he was an Engineering and Information Technology (EIT) ambassador and a UALR Legionnaire, both positions that allowed him to inform prospective UALR students, promote the university, and tutor current students.

“You gain friends who are outgoing and ambitious,” he said. “It’s a network of people trying to do well and help others do well in the process.”

He was also a member of the Society of Women Engineers, which he said is not just for women and not just for engineers, but for anyone looking to network in the business world.

Although Persson gets fulfillment from helping others, he holds in high regard two people in particular who have helped him achieve his goals.

One is Dr. Ibrahim “Abe” Nisanci, a professor in the systems engineering department who introduced Persson to Caterpillar. The other is Director of Admissions Katie Young, who was instrumental in his decision to enroll at UALR and motivating him to stay.

“We all come to a point where we think, ‘this is too hard,’ but she led me to believe in myself,” he said.