Want a mentor or partner (Chicago or Urbana Champaign)

I want to learn from someone who is very good at Arduino or microcontrollers in general. I'm an engineering students at U of I and I like to tinker in the spare time.

I have a few project I'm working on and I feel if I can get a partner/mentor I can get it on to the market quicker.

I need someone who knows stepper motors and/or power electronics (like DC-DC converters).

Thank You