Matt Zamieski helps others get behind the wheel.

As a leader for Formula SAE and the university’s freshman orientation program, Zamieski enjoys showing people what he’s learned through the experiences he’s had.

“Most of my leadership experience comes from my involvement on campus,” he said. “I know what it’s like to be a wide-eyed recruit.”

Zamieski now serves as an adviser to the Formula SAE Electric vehicle dynamics team to ensure there is knowledge transfer to the new members. Previously, he was team lead, where he had the opportunity to lead a team of 25 members and frequently meet with the university faculty to discuss team progression.

During Zamieski’s second year as a member of Formula SAE, the team was able to get the car to run under its own power for the first time in its history. In addition to the team successes, Zamieski was awarded the Ford Blue Oval Scholarship after his first year on the team.

“Matt earned the respect of his teammates and modeled the leadership behavior that he expected to see from the team,” said Associate Professor Line van Nieuwstadt. “He held himself responsible for the actions of his teammates. These are the attributes of a Difference Maker.”

To help others acclimate to their new campus environment, Zamieski has worked as an orientation leader and an orientation program assistant.

“It not only gave me leadership skills, but also the opportunity to interact with and welcome the incoming and perspective students,” he said. “And as an orientation program assistant, I worked more closely with the faculty on campus and helped lead the new orientation leaders through each of the orientation sessions.”

In the future, Zamieski would like to work in the motorsports industry. And he’d like to continue to give back to the organizations that have given him both experience and confidence.

“I have grown a lot as both an engineer and a person through FSAE,” he said, “and I would like to give back to the FSAE community and volunteer.”