UW Bioengineering welcomes B.S. Bioengineering student Jenny Ferina into her new role as an undergraduate peer advisor. She joins Brittni Burgess, a senior, to serve on the department’s peer advising team. Brittni became a peer advisor for BioE in 2016. Learn more about Brittni.

BioE peer advisors help prospective students gain an inside perspective on the department’s undergraduate experience. Peer advisors answer questions about applying to the major, course scheduling, curriculum and life as a BioE student.

Having used peer advising herself, Jenny was inspired to help other students learn about BioE, and help them pursue opportunities within the major. She enjoys hearing about peoples’ interests and aspirations related to bioengineering. “It’s a wonderful reminder of how many ways bioengineering can benefit health care,” she says.

Jenny’s interest in bioengineering goes back to taking biology in high school, where she “fell in love” with the subject. She was particularly interested in genomics and proteomics, and working with databases. While participating in a Science Olympiad event, she saw molecular modeling of proteins for the first time, and learned about protein engineering and computational biology. “I realized this was what I wanted to pursue,” she says.

Jenny chose to attend UW because of the flexibility she could have in exploring majors, and because of its status as a top research institution. Her interest in protein engineering led her to Professor Valerie Daggett’s lab, where she started learning about computational protein design and simulation.

As a BioE student, Jenny enjoys being part of the department’s supportive research community, and being able to apply skills she gains through the curriculum to her research. “I feel like I have learned a lot of valuable skills from my classes that I have been able to apply in lab,” she explains.

When not studying or in lab, Jenny enjoys running and working with computers, from using recording software to make songs to designing fonts. She also loves to bake cookies.

Jenny and Brittni look forward to working with and helping prospective students discover UW Bioengineering in the coming year. Contact the peer advisors to learn more.