For Students / Getting Started / UndergraduatesECD Fellows
For Students
/ Getting Started
/ Undergraduates
ECD Fellows provide peer-to-peer career support for McCormick students
Formerly known as the Peer Mentor Program, the ECD Fellows Program connects McCormick undergraduate students with trained peer leaders who can help students take the next step in their career development.
How ECD Fellows Can Help
ECD Fellows can support students with:
- Resume and cover letter reviews
- LinkedIn profile feedback
- Career fair preparation
- Professional introductions and networking strategies
- Job and internship search strategies
- McCormickConnect and Handshake navigation
- Interview preparation and mock interview practice
- CRDV 301 career development support
- Referrals to ECD career advisors and campus resources when additional support is needed
Meet the ECD Fellows Team
ECD Fellows are McCormick students who have completed career development training and bring their own experience navigating internships, research, networking, interviews, and professional opportunities. They are excited to support fellow students with practical advice, encouragement, and a student perspective on the career development process.
2026–2027 ECD Fellows Team
- Catalina Zuo, ECD Fellow Lead
- Meredith Bacine, ECD Fellow
- Meghna Sundaram, ECD Fellow
- Pavel Belakurski, ECD Fellow
- Rayden Yap, ECD Fellow
Meet Our ECD Fellows
Catalina Zuo
Pronouns:
Major/minor:
Class standing:
Career interests or industries you are exploring:
Internship, research, project, or leadership experience:
What career topic are you most excited to help students with?
What is one piece of career advice you wish you had known earlier?
Fun fact:
Major/minor:
Class standing:
Career interests or industries you are exploring:
Internship, research, project, or leadership experience:
What career topic are you most excited to help students with?
What is one piece of career advice you wish you had known earlier?
Fun fact:
Meredith Bacine
Pronouns: She/her
Major/minor: Chemical Engineering/Business Institutions
Class standing: Senior
Career interests or industries you are exploring: Process engineer in life sciences
Internship, research, project, or leadership experience: Formerly an R&D Formulation Intern at Henkel, currently a Process Engineering Intern at Jacobs, formerly a Formulations intern at Rora (Northwestern Garage startup), and formerly a research assistant for SonBinh Nguyen
What career topic are you most excited to help students with? Networking!
What is one piece of career advice you wish you had known earlier? Ask as many questions as possible and advocate for yourself because you will never know the answer for certain unless you ask.
Fun fact: I lived in Lisbon, Portugal with a host grandmother last fall quarter!
Major/minor: Chemical Engineering/Business Institutions
Class standing: Senior
Career interests or industries you are exploring: Process engineer in life sciences
Internship, research, project, or leadership experience: Formerly an R&D Formulation Intern at Henkel, currently a Process Engineering Intern at Jacobs, formerly a Formulations intern at Rora (Northwestern Garage startup), and formerly a research assistant for SonBinh Nguyen
What career topic are you most excited to help students with? Networking!
What is one piece of career advice you wish you had known earlier? Ask as many questions as possible and advocate for yourself because you will never know the answer for certain unless you ask.
Fun fact: I lived in Lisbon, Portugal with a host grandmother last fall quarter!
Meghna Sundaram
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Major/minor: Combined BS/MS with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and MS in Civil Engineering. Additional Minor in Computer Science
Class Standing: Senior
Career interests or industries you are exploring: Structural Engineering and Building Design
Internship, research, project, or leadership experience: Last year, I was a Manufacturing Engineering intern at Procter and Gamble and working inside of a factory was super interesting. I loved how my day-to-day switched between office work and more hands-on work. This summer I interned at DeSimone which is a Structural Engineering Firm. I really enjoyed learning about the building design process and playing an active role in many cool projects. It was also great to see the collaboration between architects, structural engineers, contractors, and the developers.
What career topic are you most excited to help students with? I am most excited to help students explore different industries and work styles.
What is one piece of career advice you wish you had known earlier? I wish I had known sooner that people are super eager to talk about their careers so you should just reach out. I have learned far more from just speaking with experienced people in the field than I would have through just researching industries on my own.
Fun fact: My office at DeSimone was on the 97th floor of the Willis Tower so I had a super cool view of the whole city!
Major/minor: Combined BS/MS with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and MS in Civil Engineering. Additional Minor in Computer Science
Class Standing: Senior
Career interests or industries you are exploring: Structural Engineering and Building Design
Internship, research, project, or leadership experience: Last year, I was a Manufacturing Engineering intern at Procter and Gamble and working inside of a factory was super interesting. I loved how my day-to-day switched between office work and more hands-on work. This summer I interned at DeSimone which is a Structural Engineering Firm. I really enjoyed learning about the building design process and playing an active role in many cool projects. It was also great to see the collaboration between architects, structural engineers, contractors, and the developers.
What career topic are you most excited to help students with? I am most excited to help students explore different industries and work styles.
What is one piece of career advice you wish you had known earlier? I wish I had known sooner that people are super eager to talk about their careers so you should just reach out. I have learned far more from just speaking with experienced people in the field than I would have through just researching industries on my own.
Fun fact: My office at DeSimone was on the 97th floor of the Willis Tower so I had a super cool view of the whole city!
Pavel Belakurski
Pronouns:
Major/minor:
Class standing:
Career interests or industries you are exploring:
Internship, research, project, or leadership experience:
What career topic are you most excited to help students with?
What is one piece of career advice you wish you had known earlier?
Fun fact:
Major/minor:
Class standing:
Career interests or industries you are exploring:
Internship, research, project, or leadership experience:
What career topic are you most excited to help students with?
What is one piece of career advice you wish you had known earlier?
Fun fact:
Rayden Yap
Pronouns: (He/Him)
Major/minor: Manufacturing & Design Engineering
Class Standing: Sophomore
Career interests or industries you are exploring: Biomaterials, renewable energy, product design, venture capital, consulting
Internship, research, project, or leadership experience: Founder & CEO @ Symbia (sustainable leather made of kombucha, featured @ VentureCat & Jumpstart), Research Fellow @ Young Research Group (water insecurity survey tools used by 100+ organizations worldwide)
What career topic are you most excited to help students with? I'm most excited to help students with networking and show them it's a learnable skill.
What is one piece of career advice you wish you had known earlier? Clarity doesn't come before action, but because of action. Even if it means embarrassing yourself!
Fun fact: I've been to 10 concerts in the past year.
Major/minor: Manufacturing & Design Engineering
Class Standing: Sophomore
Career interests or industries you are exploring: Biomaterials, renewable energy, product design, venture capital, consulting
Internship, research, project, or leadership experience: Founder & CEO @ Symbia (sustainable leather made of kombucha, featured @ VentureCat & Jumpstart), Research Fellow @ Young Research Group (water insecurity survey tools used by 100+ organizations worldwide)
What career topic are you most excited to help students with? I'm most excited to help students with networking and show them it's a learnable skill.
What is one piece of career advice you wish you had known earlier? Clarity doesn't come before action, but because of action. Even if it means embarrassing yourself!
Fun fact: I've been to 10 concerts in the past year.
