The Engineering Student Council (ESC) represents and operates in the best interests of the students at the Albert Nerken School of Engineering. The Council is administered by three administrative chairs (ad-chairs) Gila Rosenzweig CE’24, Ben Aziel ME’24, and Ky Yurchuk CE’23. The ESC ad-chairs work to facilitate the communication of thoughts and desires of the engineering school to faculty and administration. 

Any inquiries? Please contact them at engineeringstudentcouncil@cooper.edu. 

Gila Rosenzweig CE’24

Hi! My name is Gila Rosenzweig, and I am a third-year Civil Engineering student. Engineering appeals to me because, surrounded by the buildings of New York my whole life, I realized I want to have a part in preserving the history embedded in our engineering and simultaneously updating our infrastructure to meet the needs of today. At Cooper, I am one of three administrative chairs on the Engineering Student Council, and part of SEAoNY and Steel Bridge. When I’m not in school or working, I’ll be reading or wandering NYC. 

One of my favorite things about Cooper is its small size; we really get to know our classmates and professors and have a lot of opportunity for lab work and projects. More importantly, students at this school have a voice and we use it. The most formalized venue for that is the Student Council structure, of which I have been a part since my first year. ESC allows students to communicate directly with the deans and the president; it is a space for the student body to provide feedback, both positive and negative, to the administration, and keep up to date with the goings-on at Cooper.  

ESC is also an opportunity for students across years and majors to come together, an organization that can be central to the school in a way not filled by other clubs. This year, ESC has been focused on creating new events, in addition to our regulars, that will engage students and make the Cooper community more than a highly academic environment. The council has come up with new ideas that we haven’t tried before, and Ben, Ky and I are looking forward to working together with them to make it happen. 

Ben Aziel ME’24

Hi all, I’m Ben Aziel, a third-year mechanical engineering student at the Cooper Union. I’m one of the three administrative chairs of Engineering Student Council. 

I’m from Queens, NY, and have been interested in various STEM-related topics since childhood. From a fascination with cartography and mass transit design to a brief obsession with acoustics and music production, I was all over the place as a kid. Luckily, I’m a bit more grounded now; at Cooper, you can usually find me on the 6th floor fiddling with MATLAB, trying to learn all I can about dynamic systems modeling and controller design. On the rare occasion I have free time, I like playing the piano, hanging out with friends, and binging new shows. 

I’ve been a member of Engineering Student Council since Fall 2020, representing my mechanical engineering class for two years. During my tenure as a representative, I was heavily involved in extracurricular funding allocation on Joint Activities Committee (JAC), where I learned a lot about the needs of club leaders, financial and otherwise. I also developed a deep interest in schedule planning, the process of ABET accreditation, and the intricacies of the major curricula.  

As an ad-chair, I’d like to oversee the creation of new events (in addition to our existing lineup of Midnight Breakfast and Faculty Auction). Within the first two months of the year, we’ve already received many exciting proposals we plan on implementing this spring. Additionally, I want to ensure that the opinions of the student body are seriously considered as major events unfold around us (such as the likely unveiling of the Computer Science major in the next few years). Through avenues like Open Forum and our weekly meetings with the Deans, we attempt to address as many student concerns as we can, but it is still challenging for the everyday student to speak their mind and be heard. I promise to be uncompromisingly direct with questions towards faculty and administration, and I implore you all to do the same. 

I look forward to working alongside Ky and Gila to ensure this year’s Engineering Student Council is a highlight in our Council’s history. 

Ky Yurchuk CE’23

Good afternoon! My name is Ky Yurchuk and I am a senior civil engineering student. This is my second year as an ad-chair with the Engineering Student Council, and my first year has taught me a lot about how Cooper and the School of Engineering operate. However, what I have learned over the past three years as a student is that Cooper’s greatest resource is its students. I have met so many bright, passionate individuals from all corners of the world in all the disciplines we offer, and I always learn something new when I get to know someone. I got into ESC because I wanted to do everything I could to speak for our greatest resource and make sure they are heard by administration.

We have a lot at Cooper that’s amazing and a lot that needs improvement. I think the School of Engineering has great potential, and there are faculty and administration that are trying to achieve that potential. It is the duty of the Engineering Student Council to relay the needs and concerns of students to faculty and administration and to hold them accountable for implementing change. I’m proud to represent my student body and stand up for them, and I know Ben and Gila are as well. Cheers to a successful year!