Chris Bolin: Where He Is Now, and Why

Chris Bolin’s days are built around time blocks.

Class. Lab. Work. Team meetings. Study. Repeat.

“Most of my days revolve around class,” he said. “I’m taking 17 credit hours, five classes. I work three part-time jobs, and I’m also on the Formula SAE race team.”

That schedule defines his life at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), where Bolin is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. It also explains why very little about his day feels optional.

Tests are short and frequent. Assignments stack. Formula SAE meets four to five times a week. Messages from teammates and professors come in daily. There is always something next.

Bolin describes it as “chaotic,” but not in a way that sounds unmanageable. More like tightly packed.

The academic pace is faster than what he experienced at EICC, but the workload itself is familiar. Before transferring, Bolin earned two degrees at EICC. During his final year, he intentionally increased the difficulty of his schedule, taking heavier course loads to better understand what university-level expectations would require.

“My experience at EICC helped prepare me because some of the subjects I’m learning now aren’t brand new. They’re just evolving,” Bolin said.

That preparation becomes clear when he talks about engineering. At the Scott campus, his coursework emphasized application. Building systems. Troubleshooting. Working with equipment.

At MSOE, the work has shifted toward theory, math, and design. “The tech degree at EICC prepares you to build. Now I’m learning how to design,” Bolin said.

That distinction matters most in Formula SAE, where students are responsible for bringing a hybrid race car back to operational status for the first time in years. The electrical system has not run since 2019. The team’s goal is to get every subsystem functioning together.

Bolin works on the high-voltage side of the car. The work is collaborative and technical. Problems are worked through collectively, often over multiple meetings. Progress happens in pieces. When something does not work, the team stays with it.

He talks about Formula SAE the same way he talks about his classes: as another environment that demands preparation, communication, and patience.

Those habits did not appear by accident.

When Bolin returned to college, it followed a period of addiction that disrupted much of his earlier life. He acknowledges that period without elaboration. What matters more, he says, is what he built afterward.

At EICC, that meant structure. Long days on campus. Consistent routines. Using available support systems. TRIO played a role, not as a rescue, but as a place where being present and engaged was expected.

“Being in TRIO and spending time on campus really prepared me for this college,” he said. “That’s a lot of what I do now.”

Bolin learned how to stay with difficult material instead of stepping away. How to ask questions early. How to keep working even when progress feels slow. Those habits mattered when his coursework became more abstract and more demanding.

During his final year at EICC, Bolin deliberately ramped up his course load again.

“It set the right expectations for how much time and work these classes take,” he said.

That decision made the transition to MSOE more predictable. Not easier, but predictable.

Outside class, Bolin was intentional about building a life that could support the workload. When he moved to Milwaukee, he knew no one. He also knew isolation would make everything harder.

“It was important for me to get engaged,” he said. “I built community through work, through the Formula SAE team, and outside of school.”

Bolin transferred two jobs from Iowa and picked up another on campus. He chose housing close enough to make long days manageable. He also made sure his recovery community was in place before the semester began.

Sobriety is not something he treats as separate from his academic life. It is part of the infrastructure that allows the rest of his schedule to function.

“This was another milestone. Even when I’m overwhelmed, I can push through it. There’s nothing I can’t overcome at this point,” Bolin said.

That does not mean his days are easy. They are full. Math-heavy. Time-sensitive. But they are workable.

On some days, Bolin steps into a different role. As a transfer ambassador at MSOE, he leads campus tours for prospective students, many of whom are transfers themselves. He approaches those conversations without a script.

“I’m not a recruiter,” he said. “I just try to be transparent.”

He talks about workload. About expectations. About how different institutions serve different goals. Bolin asks students what they want out of college and explains why MSOE aligned with his priorities. Then he lets them decide what fits theirs.

That approach mirrors how he has moved through his own education. EICC was not a fallback. It was where he learned how to handle pressure and manage his time. MSOE is where he is applying those skills at a higher level.

Looking ahead, Bolin does not describe a single end point. Electrical engineering opens multiple paths, and he is still learning which one interests him most. Internships, like the one he’ll complete at Eaton this summer, will provide some clarity. Continued work with Formula SAE will too.

For now, his focus remains practical. Keep the schedule working. Stay engaged. Do the work.

Where Bolin is now did not come from one defining moment. It came from preparation layered over time — from learning how to build routines that hold up when the work gets heavy.

It is not dramatic.

It is steady.

And it works.

From practical experience to four-year success, Bolin’s story shows what an EICC start can make possible. Learn more at eicc.edu/programs.