Connor Higgins
Javen Bies-Dupree was both eager and anxious. Like many seniors across the country, he was touring college campuses and engaging recruiters, hoping one school would emerge as the perfect fit.
He’d been accepted to all of his dream schools, including the Georgia Institute of Technology, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Miami. The University of Alabama wasn’t on his shortlist because of family ties to both the University and Tuscaloosa.
“It was just too close to home, so I searched with other institutions in mind,” he said.
However, something was missing when he met with faculty and staff during visits to campuses across the country.
“When I toured the other schools,” he said, “they put out the energy of, ‘we’re happy if you come, but we don’t care if you don’t.’”
The energy was noticeably different when he visited UA and would ultimately provide a desired personal connection and lead Bies-Dupree to UA.
He said his first campus visit seemed surreal, almost like a scene from a Disney movie; the charm and beauty of campus left a lasting impression on him. As he walked the Shelby Engineering Quad, he was amazed by UA’s investments in its engineering students. That moment sealed the decision that UA was the best place for him – a place to thrive.
“I can go anywhere and get a degree, but it is about the connections I’m going to make, the impact I am going to have and the programs I can join to make my time more fulfilling,” Bies-Dupree said. “Those are the things that shine. UA did not make me feel like just a statistic.”
Bies-Dupree graduated from the Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering (ASCTE) in Huntsville, Alabama. During his attendance, he was inspired by Asa Kalama’s Disney Imagineering videos, which would be foundational in his decision to pursue engineering in college.
“He [Kalama] would talk about how Disney rides work,” Bies-Dupree said. “All the science and engineering that goes into making the rides work sparked my mind.”
Bies-Dupree channeled the inspiration from Disney Imagineering to a pair of engineering internships before he earned his high school diploma – one with the United States Space and Missile Defense and a cybersecurity internship with Raytheon Technologies.
“Both internships gave me an experience, but I learned that even though I liked it and was good at it,” he said, “neither was the field that called out to me.”
Bies-Dupree, now a sophomore at UA, has found his calling in electrical engineering. He initially enrolled in the newly developed audio engineering program, which was moved to the School of Music. He then settled on electrical engineering to broaden his career opportunities.
Now, he looks forward to learning and working in UA’s state-of-the-art lab spaces for researching electromagnetics, embedded systems and electromechanical and energy systems. Bies-Dupree is particularly excited to study in UA’s Large-Scale Structures Laboratory.
“The large structures lab, used mostly by civil engineering majors, can be used in conjunction with my major because of what I want to do with it,” Bies-Dupree said. “My dream is to become a ride and show engineer like Disney Imagineering, where they design rollercoasters and the rides.”
Since enrolling at UA, Bies-Dupree has joined the Capstone Men and Women, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, the BRIDGE Program and the Dr. Robert E. Witt University Fellows Program through the Honors College.
Alongside the Presidential Elite Scholarship, Bies-Dupree receives the Vulcan Materials Company Presidential Honors Scholarship, which is awarded to full-time high-potential incoming freshman undergraduate students. He’s also received the College of Engineering Annual Scholarship.
The Rising Tide 2.0 Capital Campaign will continue to enhance facilities across campus to support exceptional students like Bies-Dupree as UA continues to develop innovators and leaders.
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