“I first became interested in bioengineering because my dad is an engineer and my mom works in biotechnology so it was something that I had been exposed to early on. I had always been good at math and science and was especially excited about bioengineering going to college due to its focus on improving other people’s quality of life.
My favorite course thus far has been Dr. Barry Lutz’s class on molecular diagnostics for global health. It provided a real life context for the content we were learning about, the technologies are implemented globally. My interest in expanding access health care motivated me to join Dr. Lutz’s lab, where I am working on a team to develop OLA-SIMPLE, an affordable, paper-based diagnostic device.
I am also the current president of the UW club, Engineers Without Borders, where we focus on sustainable engineering development internationally and locally. My involvement provided me the opportunity to travel to La Vega del Volcan, Guatemala for a month to work on constructing a community center. This experience enabled me to see the benefits that engineering can have globally. We also have projects in Nicaragua and around the UW community.
Coming into BioE, I wish I had known about the wide scope of BioE classes. At the beginning, you feel overwhelmed with the different topics that we learn in the core classes. But when you start to take specialized electives, you can really focus on your interests. My advice to incoming students would be to not worry too much. The students are all resourceful and intelligent, and everything works out in the end.”