Student Profile
| NAME | Kenneth |
| AGE | 22 |
| COMING FROM | Little Rock Arkansas, USA |
| STUDYING | BSc in Automotive Engineering |
Hi Kenneth! Tell us more about yourself. Why did you choose to study at Politecnico di Torino?
Hi! My name is Kenneth Carper. I am from Arkansas, a state in the USA in the south to the right of Texas. I have a strong passion for automobiles starting from a very young age, that through fortune led me to my experience at Politecnico. As a 12 year old, I found a 1979 Fiat 124 Spider sitting in a field near my house. The car was in very poor condition, from many years of rain infiltrating the vinyl convertible top. After many days of begging my father to contact the owner about the car, he finally did and the owner gifted us the car under the condition we get it back on the road! 2 years later the car is driveable and I am presented with a school essay project titled: “Write a letter to someone who inspires you and criticize their work”. I had the idea to send a letter to Fiat, criticizing their lack of current production of the 124 sports car, as the only Fiat present in America at the time was the Fiat 500. I share my experience with the 124, and send the letter to the headquarters of Fiat in Turin, Italy. With no expectation, 2 weeks later I was presented with a response from the COO at the time, Alfredo Altavilla, who contacted me through the email I provided in the letter! I was ecstatic and my parents barely believed me. Mr. Altavilla invited my family and I to visit Turin and see the Fiat headquarters. Later I would discover Mr. Altavilla has a Fiat 124 a similar year to mine, and it was my passion he recognized from a young age that influenced him to respond. A year later, after trying to contact Fiat through phone to setup a visit we were successful. My family and I made a trip to Turin, got to meet Mr. Altavilla, and most importantly here is where he shared about Politecnico di Torino. I was super excited at age 14 about an Automotive university, and fast forward another 4 years, after not receiving many scholarships, and the cheapest university option in the USA being $20,000 per year, I decided to return to Torino to take the entrance exam. This is my story of how I discovered an incredible university!
That sounds fascinating! How was your first impact at PoliTO, then?
Initially being naive as many 18 year old high school graduates are, my first day was completely filled with excitement. I was confident in my ability to pass with ease, as in America I was top of my class without having to study. A month in this naievity still exists, as I am attending lectures every day, but not practicing and studying once the day is over that I would soon find is absolutely critical. A year in, after passing only 3 out of 5 first year exams, I was humbled and began to apply alternative study methods. My first year was spent in a Dorm, which I don’t think contributed much to my maturity, but my second year here was spent alone in my own apartment, which accelerated my growth drastically as an adult and a student.
What would you say was your most memorable class?
My most memorable class so far has been “Automotive Evolution”. It is incredible to study and reveal EVERY technology advancement ever made in the automobile. A close second would be “Science and Technology of Materials”, which had an incredible professor, and was amazing due to how often the material learnt was able to be visualized in your real-world experience.
We all know that studying is just one part of a student life, so what can you say about your life outside PoliTO?
Well, I love hanging out with friends, and skiing. The night life is incredible here, as well as the city life which allows much more socializing and connecting than I would get normally. Skiing here is just absolutely beautiful and is such an incredible experience.
Have you joined any PoliTO clubs or organisations?
I have such a strong group of friends that I have not felt it necessary to join a group at Polito. But there are many international friendly groups that have great energy as there is a huge International student base here.
What are the top three skills you’ve gained since joining PoliTO?
Maturity, Determination and Discipline. Living away from loved ones, especially isolated by your self, lets you discover who you truly are, and through covid, and being isolated from friends more than normal in my own apartment, this truly let me understand and build a relationship with myself in a way I had never been able to do before.
That sounds challenging, but also really enriching. If you could describe your experience here in three words, then, what would they be?
Definetely Challenging, as you said, Independent, and Maturing.
Challenging: the American University structure is as follows: learn new topic at beginning of week, end of week take quiz about said topic. Final grade consists of average of all quiz grades (and practice exercises which are mandatory) and 1 final exam. Politecnico’s structure is: 3 months of learning theory and new material, nothing mandatory, nothing graded before the final exam. This has been ridiculously challenging for me coming from the American system that I had mastered. I believe the American system utilizes short term memory to perform well, and cramming is very viable for the singular final exam. Also graded practice provides an incentive to apply what you have learned. The flaw to this is after a week of learning and practice, you never face the topic again until the final exam. Politecnico on the other hand forces you to motivate yourself to practice, does not have a number throughout the semester validating your success or progress in the course, and has a much more difficult final exam. Politecnico is challenging for me because it has forced me to change the ways of my mind, and adapt to be successful. After experiencing failure from my old ways of study (only applying myself in class), also failure being something that is quite rare in USA Universities, it has fortified me and constantly challenged me. I am very grateful for this.
Independent: living alone, especially away from the comfort of family has taught me to become an Independent person, and more of an introvert than I have ever been in my past years. I have enjoyed this, because I believe true happiness and confidence comes from within, not external validation and sources, so I think this independence is an amazing attribute of the Politecnico experience.
Maturing: facing challenges such as failing, homesickness, facing my own fears and anxieties alone, has developed me into a man at a considerably young age. The american system keeps you in a safe comfort bubble through your 4 years at university. Living here alone, in a new city, having to adapt and being an outsider, forces you to grow up, act like an adult to be successful, and shapes you into a stronger person.
What kind of support have you received?
The first 2 years I was under a scholarship from edisu, the scholarship organization for international students. I was receiving $5000 per year which covered my tuition and half of my apartment costs. After covid, having to work while I was home in the US, I fell outside of the credit requirement for the scholarship and unfortunately lost it. My Mother and Father are both self-employeed so Covid has been quite difficult for my family, so financially now I have little support, and am left with what my wife and I were able to save up to return to Turin.
How's a typical weekday for you?
Four out of five weekdays consist of attending lectures from 8:30 to 14:30 on average. After lectures I will make myself lunch during “siesta”, where stores are closed from 13:30 to 15:00. I will typically take a break, go to the store, watch youtube, work on personal projects until 17:00, then I will practice what I learned from the day until 20:00 which is when I make myself dinner.
What about your weekends?
Weekends for me are usually spent sleeping in. On a day where I take a break from studying I will lounge around, run errands, set up plans with friends for the night. A typical night out with friends is as follows: 18:00 plans are setup and communicated. 20:30 we meet somewhere for dinner. 22:00 we go out to a bar, friends house, or similar place to drink and socialize. Every night is different but the culture here is to often be out until about 1:00.
Thank you Kenneth for sharing your experience with us!
