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Throughout his career at Lafayette, Braden Tilghman ’09 (Miami, Fla.) has taken full advantage of the College’s focus on academic opportunities in the liberal arts and engineering.
Tilghman, who is pursuing a B.S. in mechanical engineering and an A.B. with a major in English, has conducted engineering research, studied literature abroad at Oxford University, and even acted in a production of Caligula.
He says Lafayette was simply the right fit for him. “I was looking for a small school with strengths in both engineering and the arts – particularly, a school that was willing and enthusiastic about allowing me to pursue their breadth,” Tilghman says.
This semester, Tilghman has been redesigning the mechanical engineering department’s biodiesel engine as part of an independent study project. Under the guidance of Javad Tavakoli, professor of chemical engineering, and Jennifer Rossmann, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, Tilghman is working to improve the engine’s ability to run on cooking oil.
When Tilghman isn’t working on research, he can also be found on stage. Tilghman, and other students and faculty members, got a rare chance to be involved with the Broadway-bound musical, Caligula, and work alongside award-winning professional actors. He was part of a series of script development sessions, performing in numerous rehearsals and a final public performance at the Williams Center for the Arts.
“I printed out some song lyrics, practiced in the basement of my house for about half an hour, then found myself singing and reading lines in front of the director, producer, and writer/lyricist of a Broadway pre-production,” says Tilghman. “I was thrilled, surprised, and genuinely humbled to be cast in a principal role.”
When he decided he wanted to study abroad for a semester in his junior year, Tilghman worked with the professors in the engineering department to restructure his schedule—not an easy task—to make the experience possible. He was then able to spend six months studying the philosophy of literature and creative writing at Oxford University in England.
Tilghman credits his professors in both of his majors for keeping him inspired to pursue all avenues of learning. “My professors have always been supportive, patient, and particularly enlightening,” he says. “I have always made it a point to take advantage of office hours, and my professors have always left their doors open. They always seem prepared to ask the appropriate question that sends me back to my studies with a newfound enthusiasm and perspective.”
While at Lafayette, Tilghman also has served on the Academic Progress Faculty Committee, the English Department Faculty Search Committee, and as a calculus tutor. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa (the oldest undergraduate honors organization in the U.S.), Tau Beta Pi (the engineering honor society), and Order of Omega (Greek honor society).
Following graduation, Tilghman plans to spend some time doing nonprofit work before attending law school in 2010, although he is keeping all options open. “If Lafayette has taught me anything, it’s to not close any doors without sincere consideration of what lies behind them,” he says.