Global Awareness

I am currently involved in Engineering Scholars at OSU. My first semester, we focused on the importance of realizing our impact on the environment and the world around us. Our teacher facilitated a class discussion where we brainstormed ways we as engineers could still live our lives while focusing on minimizing the negative blowback it may have on the earth. Human impact is a problem all around the world which makes it an issue of global awareness. We were also broken into groups and allowed to select one of the 17 sustainable development goals published by the United Nations that humans should work together and strive to achieve by the year 2030. My group chose the 14th goal, “Life Below Water.” This category pertains to all types of water from oceans, to rain, to drinking water. Personally, I found studying this topic fascinating because I feel it’s often overlooked just how much we as humans rely on water. Typically, I’d only ever heard concerns about marine wildlife when talking about water but water drives many, many other things such climate, trade, food, and the air we breathe. This opened my eyes to how much I, and everyone, take water for granted and made me more aware and cautious of my actions.

On another side, second semester of my sophomore year we focused on something completely different. Someone from the OSU Multicultural Center came in and gave presentations on inclusiveness. We talked about ways we identify ourselves and others such as gender, social status, race, ethnicity, etc… One of my favorite parts of the presentation was when we discussed privilege because in today’s world all I think when I hear that word is “white privilege.” The wheel below was included in her presentation and it came as a shock. I never realized all the different types of privilege one can have and how lucky I was to have so many of the advantages checked off in my life. It really opened my eyes to the little things most people have that go unnoticed and unappreciated because they can only see the one or two privileges they don’t have, rather than the ten they do.

Original Inquiry

So far, I’d say the biggest contribution I’ve made as an undergraduate student is through my work as an undergraduate research assistant. I worked in a lab with my Intro to Biomedical Engineering professor, Benjamin Walter, my entire sophomore year and even earned a scholarship from the university to continue my work over the summer. I plan on continuing to stay involved in some sort of research the rest of my college career and possibly even pursuing it after graduation. I’ve helped troubleshoot problems with a homemade apparatus we used on the first project I was a part of and gave suggestions on how to improve its functionality. This summer I’m heading my own project for the first time and will give a presentation about my outcomes in the fall. My project seeks to answer the question: How does the pericellular matrix effect changes in cell volume under a compressive load. The pericellular matrix surrounds your cells and is believed to be involved in a process called mechanotransduction which is when a mechanical stimuli causes a cellular response. For example, when you stand up you place a compressive load, or strain, on the intervertebral discs between the bones of your spine. I want to study in what ways the pericellular matrix permits or prevents the cells from experiencing changes in volume due to this load. In addition to this project, I’m also helping gather content for a review paper my professor and one of his graduate students are writing and may be named as a  co-author.

Academic Enrichment

I’ve been accepted into my major of biomedical engineering for a year now. Going into college I was an undecided engineering major. I knew I wanted to be involved in science, but I also had a love for math so I knew I wanted to be an engineer. Growing up in a family of all different types of engineers I always had the encouragement to become an engineer, but no real way to determine what kind specifically. Even in college I found it difficult to get a feel for the different fields through the general intro to engineering classes that were mandated. It wasn’t until the deadlines for applications were approaching and the pressure was on that I was able to dig deep and think about what major I’d really like the best. I’ll admit I was a little hesitant at first because this was a really big decision that had to be made in such a short amount of time. However, after my first semester in my major classes and participation in undergraduate research I new I’d chosen right. I loved taking anatomy and biology and learning how to apply the concepts I’d learned freshman year to real things in the lab.

I took a lot of AP classes in high school so I haven’t had to take an GEs yet in college. In the future, I plan on taking American Attitudes about Technology to fulfill my second writing requirement in addition to research ethics. I’ve read many reviews from students saying how these classes are the most applicable GE requirements for engineering majors and helped them achieve growth in their professional development. I believe my major and course load demonstrate academic excellence. Biomedical engineering is one of the most, if not the most competitive major on campus. In addition to the application you must answer several essay questions as only 80 students are accepted into the major each year. The average GPA of an admitted student is a 3.8 which is very high, especially considering the fact that I took all core classes my freshman year so I didn’t have any GEs to pad my grade.

Leadership Development

On campus I’m involved in Engineering Scholars (ES), the Society of Women in Engineering (SWE), the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), and TEK8. This year I applied to be an Engineering Scholars mentor. I will be assigned a co-mentor as well as a group of freshman mentees who are also enrolled in ES. My partner and I will be checking in on our mentees via email or text before all the big moments in their first year including move-in day, first exams, finals, winter break, etc to offer words of encouragement and to answer any questions. We are also supposed to be attending several events throughout the year with our mentees as well as larger gatherings with everyone in the mentoring program to get to know everyone better and build bonds. However, with the corona virus flaring up it’s likely most in person events will be postponed or made virtual. I believe this experience will help to build my leadership skills, maybe even more so due to the virus because it will require me to be more available for my students and more casual with meetings which will hopefully help make everything less awkward and make them feel comfortable opening up and reaching out if they’re in need of help. As far as SWE and BMES I don’t hold any leadership positions within the clubs but I think it’s still important to attend meetings and be there to vote on matters which will impact me.

TEK8 is another sort of mentorship program I’ll be involved in this year. TEK8 stands for “Translating Engineering Research  K-8.” Essentially, I will use my research experience this summer and use it to create design challenges aimed for kids in grades K-8. In the fall I’ll be taking a course designed to teach me how to effectively translate my research into something a younger audience can understand and learn from. Historically, there’s a lot less people of color pursuing jobs in the scientific/engineering career. Our goal is to expose kids in underprivileged Columbus schools to engineering and STEM concepts. We hope this early exposure will get them excited about STEM majors and show them career options they might not otherwise know about. I believe this opportunity will build my leadership skills in a whole knew way because I’ll have to learn how to communicate complicated scientific ideas into simple, yet fun demos and challenges kids will get excited about. These are skills I will keep with me in my personal and professional life.

Service Engagement

Over my two years at OSU I’ve done most of my community service through programs brought to me by Engineering Scholars. I’ve taken part in Community Commitment day in the fall where I was randomly assigned a group and was driven to a local business or property that needed assistance for the day. In my case, I ended up working to clean up community/school gardens both years but projects ranged anywhere from building fences to organizing donated clothes. I’ve also taken part in a similar event called Spring into Action which is held second semester. Some of the odd job service events I’ve volunteered for around Columbus are making Valentines day cards for residents of a retirement home, collecting donations for the Special Olympics, and running an engineering station for the Girl Scouts. When I’m home I volunteer at our local House of Bread serving meals to the homeless. I also helped clean up debris from the Memorial day tornados that devastated my town last summer. In the future, I plan on continuing to volunteer in the events organized by the university and my scholars group. After the corona virus is over and it’s safe to start volunteering again I plan on signing up to work at the House of Bread more frequently. Volunteering at this establishment in particular showed me that homeless people are still human beings like me and you. They tell jokes, and laugh, and seek companionship just like everyone else. It’s unbelievable the number of homeless people living just in my town and it’s heartbreaking to know many of them are veterans that bravely fought to protect our country. The least we could do it return is make sure there are plenty, well-funded establishments where they can go for a meal and a bed and more jobs for vets initiatives in the community.