From the Military to Mars: Cooke Scholar Mark Rubianes
Mark Rubianes has been interested in computers for his entire life, and finds building circuits to be both a logistical challenge and a creative outlet.
Following four years in the military, Mark enrolled in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Community College. Now he’s studying computer engineering at North Carolina State University with a Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship.
“A lot of people think that circuits and mathematics is a very rigorous and static profession, but it’s actually the opposite,” says Mark. “When you start getting into circuits, it becomes more of an art than a science.”
As a Cooke Scholar, Mark will receive up to $40,000 per year to complete his bachelor’s degree, along with opportunities for internships, study abroad, and graduate school funding.
After graduation, he has dreams of working on the team that sends the first person to Mars.