“Leave Your Comfort Zone,” Says Student Success Coach Sunny Lin

May 4, 2026 - “I used to be a really quiet person.” said UCI mechanical and aerospace engineering senior Sunny Lin, “I couldn’t even order food by myself because I was nervous.”  That quiet freshman blossomed into an engineering ambassador, student success coach, external VP of the UCI chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and a recovery design and test engineer for the UCI Rocket Project Liquids team.

For Lin, it all started with finding community. “I needed engineering friends,” she said. The first place she looked was UCI’s chapter of SWE, where she met her mentor Rachael Koo, who encouraged her to get involved as a club officer. “After that, I was just hooked and became professional lead external VP.”  In that role, she helped members meet people in industry. She planned the Industry Networking Night where she brought representatives from 10 companies to attend a banquet dinner and won Best Industry Night from the Engineering Student Council for the outstanding event. She also brought 33 women to attend the Women in Engineering conference in Chicago in 2024.

Like her name “Sunny,” Lin exudes a warmth and radiance that makes her a personable engineering ambassador and student success coach. She’s often a panelist on women in engineering events and shares her story to inspire younger students to pursue engineering. When Lin was in elementary school, she was inspired by the movie Hidden Figures and the brilliant mathematician Katherine Johnson who played a key role in enabling America’s first crewed orbital spaceflight around the Earth in 1962.

As a success coach, Lin helps students through the steps to get research positions and internships. She has interned at Lockheed Martin for two summers as a systems integration and test intern for satellites. She also was an undergraduate researcher in UCI assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering Perry Johnson’s lab and a UROP fellow at UCI professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering Lorenzo Valdevit’s lab where she studied turbulent boundary layers.

Lin helps students learn how to prepare an excellent resume, e-portfolio and conducts mock interviews with them to help them shine as they look for jobs.  “Highlight things that make you stand out, even a hobby like skydiving,” Lin advises. “You also need to be personable and communicate well.”

She also coaches students who are struggling. Lin helps them identify the issues that have led to lower grades which often include lack of time, financial issues or how they study. Then, she helps them improve by acquiring one new habit at a time.  Students continually book appointments with her as she helps them grow. “It’s really rewarding,” Lin said of her coaching work.

 “Since college is a time to learn about yourself,” she tells students, “go out of your comfort zone to discover your true identity.” It’s a motto she has followed as she’s joined many clubs, projects and labs during her college years.

Lin has faced rejection too and has done so with a positive and flexible outlook. She didn’t make the UCI Rocket Project Liquids team the first year she applied so she joined UCI CanSat, which designs satellites, and the Human-Powered Vehicle Challenge. Both were rewarding experiences. “I feel like UCI has taught me every risk I take will always be a benefit, even rejections can be a redirection,” Lin said. “I find another way.”

One of the facets she loves about UCI is how students support each other.  Lin said every class discord group, the private chat group students use for classes, has been a positive network. “When you ask for help, people help,” she said. She recalls that she’s never seen an instance when students have held back from responding or tried to sabotage others.

“I’m very happy I came to this school,” said Lin. “There are so many opportunities. People are so nice — they’ll introduce you to even more opportunities.”

In the past four years, Lin has discovered she loves aerospace research and being a part of other students’ journeys. When she first arrived on campus, she was afraid of the professors, but now she wants to be one. After she graduates this June, she’ll be well on that journey as she pursues a Ph.D. at Princeton University.

- Natalie Tso