Renee Shaktivel
Staff Writer
Melissa Coburn is turning her dreams into a reality.
The sophomore is pursuing an electrical engineering degree with a computer science minor while playing on the ISU women’s tennis team. Both were childhood dreams.
“In first grade, the teacher told us to draw what we wanted to be and I drew an electrical engineer,” Coburn said. “I wanted to be an electrical engineer before I played tennis and now I have both coming true.”
Coburn found her stride in tennis after her mother asked her if she wanted to play when she was young.
During high school, she came from a class of over 400 students and was a four-year varsity tennis player and team MVP in 2014 and 2015. Ranking 42nd in the state of Texas, she also became a regional semifinalist during those years and was named first-team all-district in 2016.
After coming from the city life of Dallas, Coburn fell in love with the small-community lifestyle that Pocatello offers.
But despite the charm of small town living, Coburn faces many challenges on and off the court, like maintaining a good academic standing, winning matches and being the one of the few women in her field.
“A large majority of my classes are all guys,” Coburn said. “It’s kind of weird because it’s harder to make friends, but it’s just the nature of the field.”
But she refuses to let that stop her. Coburn is constantly showing heavy interests in renewable energy and the possibilities that electrical engineering offers.
Upon graduation, the goal is to make a difference in the world.
“She’s always positive and always gives 100 percent,” said Madison Fenske, her doubles partner. “You can really see her effort and it’s motivating.”
With a hectic traveling schedule, staying on top of class and work, Coburn soon found that there was very little time to take a breath. But in the end, she says it will all be worth it.
“It’s fun seeing other places,” Coburn said. “When we travel together as a team, we get to make memories, but you got to relax a little.”
In her rarely-found spare time she enjoys watching movies, hiking and going to Lava Hot Springs.
“We have a lot of energy together,” Fenske said. “We often complement each other. She has a powerful serve and I am able to put it away at the net.”
