Everyday in my college career, I remember what I was doing just a year ago when I was applying for colleges or receiving my decisions and finally making the decision to come here. My perspective on my life and on my career changed drastically with this impressionable year. I was faced with new challenges, especially in the area of academics but at the same time, I was able to make new friends that I never thought I would make. It was a bit of a difficult transition coming from high school to college because the dynamic of academics is so different and in the case of engineering, much more difficult. Although I can say, that even though it was tough, the classes I took, especially engineering, shaped my future career goals and solidified my passion for medicine and science. It was also great to have a supportive community like the Eminence Fellows Program to find my friends and to find connections for research and things for the future.
Looking back at when I started my engineering course, I barely had any knowledge of coding or of the engineering process but by the end of my first year, I thought otherwise. The FEH program at OSU is a very rigorous and tough program that has its students put so much effort but in the end, the students come out as true engineers. FEH gave me the insight into the academic rigor of engineering and into college in general and although it was hard many times, I would do it all over again to get the result I have now. In my first semester of the FEH program, I learned a variety of coding that started my engineering college career and would help me in the long run when applying for jobs. This coding practice culminated in a design project that allowed me to practice coding and apply critical thinking skills as well. However, the second semester of the FEH program is what truly changed my perspective of what an engineering does and it was with the Nanotechnology and Microfluidics projects. I collaborated with a hardworking group of individuals to create a Lab on a Chip device that would detect tuberculosis with a single drop of blood. In addition to that, we also studied the effect of incubation temperature on yeast cell adhesion in a microfluidic chip. Learning how engineering could work with biology fascinated me and I took an even greater interest in my pursuit of the pre-med track. I practiced giving professional presentations of our research and work and it finally culminated in a research poster presentation for our final project. These experiences showed me how to organize myself and believe in myself to do all of these things.
Another huge part of my first year was my experience in the realm of undergraduate research. I was fortunate enough to have landed a position in Dr. Andre Palmer’s Artificial Blood Lab. So far, I have learned many aspects of undergraduate research as well as discovering my love for working in a laboratory environment. At first, I did some general housekeeping chores and learned how to create different buffer solutions to lyse the red blood cells. I was then given a small independent project that allowed me to use the skills I had learned in the lab so far. I was tasked with testing different solutions that would be the most beneficial for cleaning blood filters according to the flow rate. I worked with different chemicals and was able to create different solutions easily as well. Finally, I was given a long-term project towards the end of the school year and for the summer that related to the oxidation kinetics of hemoglobin. I was to develop an external circuit to mimic the oxygenation and deoxygenation of hemoglobin and to be used for the preservation of organs. This summer I am hoping to write a report on my findings and gain experience working in the lab through my own project.
However, the most rewarding aspects of the college life are the people you meet whether it is your roommates or your friends from your major. I found that your friends, especially in the major of engineering, are a necessity to get through college and also to have fun while doing academics. I found so many people that I could relate to and also enjoyed doing the projects in engineering like this.