TRIFEENA JAMES

Feature by the Alma Mater

September 24, 2025

It's surreal when you get the opportunity to be featured on your university's website. I was one of those prospective students who pored over alumni and student stories on the school website, admiring what they got to do. To be on the flip side of it is humbling and a reality check that the school chapter of my life has closed. Nonetheless, I get to keep all the precious memories and relationships from that time.

Here's the feature if interested: https://me.jhu.edu/news/mse-graduate-spotlight-trifeena-james-24/

A Full Circle Moment

June 18, 2025

When I was a high school senior participating in the NASA High School Aerospace Scholars program, I remember being in awe of the different NASA personnel who shared about their personal journeys and how they got to NASA. Being on the flipside of it is a dream come true, and one I don't take for granted. I try to speak to students at outreach events or student programs to learn from them and see what the rising Artemis generation is excited about. Most recently, I spoke to students at the 2025 HAS Closing Ceremony where they had just finished presenting their concept missions and were eagerly waiting to hear if they would get to go to the onsite experience. In my talk, I tried to give some high-level but also practical tips on how students might prepare for life after high school, specifically:

how students are shaped by their prior experiences and how their past has shaped their "why"
how students will need to take care of themselves
how students will have to handle the hard work that comes with starting a new chapter.

The closing ceremony and my remarks can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/live/Ign7djOaIsc

Digital Portfolios

Let's rewind to the Fall of 2014.

My first encounter with the e-portfolio was in an introductory engineering design class in 9th grade. It was a class assignment to help document all the projects we did that semester. At the time, it was just cool to make a website that had my name on it and photos of the gadgets we made in class (RIP to my school-sponsored Google site).

E-portfolios became increasingly prevalent in university as the engineering school recognized the need for students to showcase their hardwork in light of an increasingly competitive job landscape. The portfolio is not only uncommon enough among engineering students that it sparks additional interest. The portfolio illustrates the actions behind the words on a resume. Instead of noting the standard capstone project, prospective employers can now see the working assemblies the student constructed with their team.

Now as a working professional, the same excitement from my first site still arises any time I post online (perhaps why I post infrequently). It can be intimidating to share work out into the ether that is the internet, but how else do we advocate for ourselves as creatives, designers, and engineers in the digital age?

So here's to showcasing the work we're proud of, the conversations they spark, and the new ideas yet to be.

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