Student Spotlight: Emily Zamora, Trumpet

When Emily Zamora first began her freshman year at Michigan, she was a student in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. Her sophomore year, she transferred to the College of Engineering to pursue Computer Engineering. But before the end of her sophomore year, she realized her true passion was in education.

"I think I started considering a switch last fall," Zamora said. "I really enjoyed coursework but wasn’t passionate about engineering for the rest of my life. I enjoyed learning discrete math and my engineering classes, but being an instructional assistant for EECS 280 (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science) and interacting with students to help them put the building blocks together felt so much more fulfilling than doing it myself. I began to realize that teaching was in everything I’ve done. I'd always had a teaching component in the things I really enjoyed, so I applied to the School of Education and started the Elementary Undergraduate Education Program."

Zamora has always had a strong education background. Before starting college, Zamora worked as a gymnastics coach for five years. This past summer, Zamora worked with the Center for Engineering Diversity and Outreach within the College of Engineering to provide programs for under-represented groups. 

"This summer, I worked with the Grizzly Scholars based in Ypsilanti Public Schools," Zamora said. "One of the founders was an alumna of the College of Engineering at Michigan, where she had studied Chemical Engineering. When she went to U of M, she didn’t see a lot of people like her and wanted to bring more students in. The Grizzly Scholars takes people from fourth grade and gives them academic support. They help with things like college applications and applying for financial aid. The more financially literate students are, the more equipped they are going to be. I was heartbroken and honored to be able to interact with this program. They went to the marine engineering lab in West Hall. They got to make their own boats and test them with simulated wind and waves. It was amazing. They are trying to put skills into students' hands, like failing forward and the idea that you don’t always have to get it right the first time, you can work your way up."

One of the projects that kids were able to work with was the Sphero BOLT, a tiny robot about the size of an orange. Users can open an app on their phones and use textcode or blockcode to write programs that instruct the bots to move in different patterns and flash different colors. 

"Getting to know the students was the best part," Zamora said. "Learning about what made students click. And it showed up in their school work. They were more confident in their work. We would adjust the curriculum to give the students a valuable learning experience that was on pace with them."

After working with The Grizzly Scholars, Zamora decided to continue her involvement in STEM education through her work with the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) at Michigan. 

"As part of SWE, I adapted a program from UC Berkeley, called SWE ++, a nine week programming python course for first time programmers (middle school students)," Zamora said. "I originally tried to partner with a specific school, but later we adapted our curriculum to get students from all over southeast Michigan. We had about 60 students enrolled in the two sessions, so 30 kids on Tuesdays and 30 on Thursdays. I loved watching the moment when the students realized that they could program. Most showed up thinking programming was something so obscure that they could never do, but seeing them use a program that they had developed and they could use, I would see their faces light up."

SWE has been around for more than 70 years, working to give women a greater voice in STEM and celebrating their accomplishments. At Michigan, SWE is an entirely student-run group. 

"I first learned about SWE when I attended an event my junior year of high school: Girls in Research, Engineering and Technology Day," Zamora said. "I knew when I got here that I would join. I joined mostly outreach committees. I loved meeting people like me, women in engineering."

Whether in her work or in her role as an elementary education student, Zamora hopes to create a more equitable future for education. 

"I want the education system to move towards creating a safe learning environment for students," Zamora said. "I want to be able to give students the tools to create the world they want to see because they have so much more imagination than we do."

Her drive has no doubt manifested on the field. Within the MMB, Zamora is a part of the trumpet section. Her favorite band memories include having fun with the trumpets during a very rainy rehearsal and running down the halls of the convention center chanting 'It’s Great to be a Michigan Wolverine' after Michigan won the Big Ten Championship in 2021.

"To anyone interested in joining the MMB, get ready for a second family," Zamora said. "We are all here to support one another. If you don’t know something, someone here will and they will help you. It’s a great mesh of expertise. I grew up watching the Michigan marching band so it’s a dream come true to be a part of this organization. I found most of my closest friends from college here and I love being a part of a tradition that’s so much bigger than myself."

After another season like no other, Zamora is ready to begin her final season with the MMB in Fall 2023.