Building Her Future: How Saly Tanyous is Shaping What's Next in Mechatronics

When Saly Tanyous ’26 walks across the stage at NJIT this spring, she won’t just be accepting her degree, she’ll be celebrating a journey marked by resilience, discovery and the courage to find her true path in engineering.

Born in Egypt, Tanyous moved to the United States in sixth grade and settled in Jersey City with her family. The transition was difficult. As a child who excelled in her Egyptian classrooms, she was suddenly navigating a new culture, a new language and the fear of falling short. “I used to cry every day, worried about failing,” she recalled. 

It was her uncle, a teacher, who reminded her that setbacks didn’t define her, that even if she stumbled, she could always get back up. That lesson — don’t give up, keep going — stayed with her and became the foundation of her NJIT story.

Tanyous was always drawn to problem-solving. Whether putting together furniture at home or figuring out how things worked, she loved puzzles and hands-on challenges. Engineering felt like the natural fit. NJIT stood out to her as the university that not only specialized in engineering but also offered variety and opportunity. “Other schools had some programs, but NJIT had options,” she said. “It felt like the place where I could really explore and find what I wanted.”

At first, Tanyous leaned toward general engineering, taking mechanical engineering courses. But as her advisor, Miosotis Hernandez, noticed, the fit wasn’t quite right. Hernandez suggested she look into NJIT’s then newly launched Mechatronics program. 

The interdisciplinary field, a blend of mechanical engineering, electronics and computer control, immediately sparked her interest. “Mechatronics combines both mechanical and electrical — it just clicked with me,” she explained. “It’s everything from robotics and drones to mechanisms that make everyday objects work, like wheelchairs or automatic doors.”

Whenever I needed it, NJIT was there.

Mechatronics gave Tanyous a home in engineering. She threw herself into projects that tested her creativity and technical skills. In NJIT’s Makerspace, she designed and 3D-printed an hourglass-style timer calibrated to exactly one minute. In another project, she laser cut a multitool the size of a credit card, equipped with a bottle opener, screwdriver, ruler and more. “I still carry it with me everywhere,” she said with pride. These projects were more than assignments — they were proof that she had found a field where her ideas could take tangible form.

Yet her path wasn’t always smooth. Sophomore year brought personal struggles that caused her academics to slip. “I kind of slacked in school,” she admitted. “But then I realized, that’s not who I am. That’s not what I want.” With Hernandez’s support, along with encouragement from her professors, her church community and her family, she turned things around. She rebuilt her GPA and regained the confidence that had carried her through her earlier challenges. “You don’t always see the story behind the person graduating,” she said. “But there’s a lot that goes into that walk across the stage.”

Now, as a senior preparing to graduate in May, Tanyous is eager to apply what she’s learned. She’s aiming to start her career in the New York metro region and applying to internships while she builds experience. Longer term, her dream is to invent something uniquely her own — whether that’s a robot, a new device or an innovation that changes everyday life. “I want to be able to say, ‘I made this, I developed this, I created this,’” she said. “Not just because a job told me to, but because it came from me.”

She also hopes to expand her horizons internationally. As someone fluent in both English and Arabic, she sees possibilities in places like Dubai and Japan, hubs of innovation in robotics and artificial intelligence. “Being able to speak Arabic would really help if I worked in Dubai,” she said. “It would open a lot of doors.”

Accessible Support, Hands-On Opportunities

Community has been central to Tanyous’ NJIT experience. She’s an active member of the Coptic Society, where she connects with peers of Egyptian heritage and finds support through shared faith and culture. Whether through tutoring, mentorship, or simple encouragement, she’s benefited from the community’s guidance — and she hopes to offer the same to others. She already advises her younger brother, now a senior in high school considering engineering, encouraging him to explore the range of opportunities at NJIT.

Looking back, she sees NJIT as the place where she was able to stumble, recalibrate and ultimately succeed. The university’s combination of rigorous academics, accessible support systems and hands-on opportunities gave her the environment she needed to thrive. “There’s always help here — professors, advisors, tutoring,” she said. “Whenever I needed it, NJIT was there.”

As graduation approaches, Tanyous reflects on the friendships she’s made, the challenges she’s overcome, and the projects that have sparked her imagination. She’s among the first students to graduate from NJIT’s Mechatronics program, a distinction that highlights both her pioneering spirit and her determination to forge her own path. 

Her advice to others echoes the lessons she learned as a child making a difficult transition and as a student finding her place in engineering: “Always push forward. Life gets tough sometimes, but you’ll never regret finishing and getting that degree. Surround yourself with people who support you and keep moving forward. It gets easier.”

For Tanyous, NJIT has been more than a university — it has been the launchpad for a future she’s still imagining, but one she’s determined to shape with her own hands.