What is your hometown, and is your major and minor?

I’m from Wapakoneta, Ohio, which is a small hometown, but is also the home of the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong!

I’m majoring in Mechanical Engineering and minoring in Business Management.

What intrigues you about your area of study?

I love how engineering combines logic with creativity.  Mathematics forms a foundation but product design allows you to stretch your brain beyond just the numbers.  I want to use the knowledge I’ve gained through my classes and other experiences to design new medical products and solve important problems in the medical field.

What type of research and projects are you working on?

Currently, I am working on independent research and an accompanying senior Honors thesis with a team led by my advisor, Bob Setlock, to study the role of mechanical loading in bone remodeling.  Specifically, we would like to be able to predict what stimulates bone remodeling and use the knowledge to create prosthetic bone that would regenerate within the body upon implantation. We hope to publish our results by the end of the year.

My senior design project involves the development of an ergonomic medical data collection cart to be used in hospitals. The goal of the project is to design a cart that is more efficient and more user-friendly to everyone who might interact with it, including patients, nurses, doctors, and technicians.

Have you traveled as part of your academic work,  for service projects, or just for fun?

This past summer, I studied abroad in Paris for five weeks with 20 other Miami students and two professors.  While in Europe, I had the opportunity to visit many famous Parisian sights including the Musée d’Orsay, the Louvre, Giverny, Montmartre, Versailles, the Opéra Garnier, and of course, La Tour Eiffel.  As part of our course, we visited a jazz club, took a cooking class, and studied Parisian literature, painting, film, and culture.  On the weekends, I also visited Ireland, Spain, Italy, and the French Riviera.  By the end of the trip, I had survived grocery shopping with French labels, bartering in the shopping markets of Florence, and eating unusual seafood in Barcelona – it was definitely the experience of a lifetime!

During fall break of my freshman year, I went to New Orleans with a Miami instructor and several students where we volunteered with Habitat for Humanity to construct new homes for Hurricane Katrina victims.  Over spring break of the same school year, I traveled with the same group to Costa Rica where we explored the ecology and biodiversity of the Monteverde Cloud Forest and Arenal Volcano.

How have you spent your summers?

In the summer of 2008, I lived with several other Miami students in downtown Chicago through Miami’s Urban Leadership Internship Program.  Four days a week, I worked at a small engineering firm with the principal engineer on manufacturing projects and 3D CAD modeling.  One day a week, I volunteered as an assistant coach at Girls in the Game, a nonprofit organization, during their Sports & Leadership Summer Camp.  I was able to lead clinics on sports, nutrition, well-being, and leadership for a diverse group of 200 young females living in the Chicago area.

When not in class, what do you like to do, what are your co-curricular activities, etc.?

Outside of class, I am the Artistic Director for Vision Dance Company, a completely student-run company performing in a variety of dance genres.  I am also the President of the Honors & Scholars Advisory Board, coordinating student board committees that advise the Honors administration on curriculum, co-curriculum, policy, and procedures.  Finally I am the Vice President of the Dean’s Student Advisory Council, which works with faculty to enhance the overall student academic experience.

How do you use what you have learned in your classes in your co-curricular activities?

Classes at Miami really emphasize group projects, so I’ve used many of the teamwork skills I gained through my classes in the organizations I lead.  I know that the real-life projects in my coursework as well as leadership through my co-curricular activities have prepared me to hold a management position in the workforce after graduation.

Why did you choose to attend Miami?

To me, Miami represented the complete package – the resources of a large university and the feel of a tight-knit family.

Through the Honors program and SEAS, I am able to participate in independent research within my major field of study while also taking intriguing elective classes.  I took Dress in America from 1880-1920, through which we assisted the Cincinnati Art Museum with an exhibit on wedding dresses from the time period.  I also took Introduction to Italian Opera, an Honors class that included a trip to NYC to see an actual opera at the Met.

Outside of academics, anyone who attends Miami can tell you that the Redhawks community becomes your family and Oxford becomes your home.  You can’t even walk across campus or stop at Bell Tower Food Court without seeing someone you know.  Most students are on a first-name basis with their professors, all of whom care to see their students succeed and will go far out of their way to make that success a reality.

Have you received any scholarships or awards?

Yes, I’ve been very fortunate to have received several which include:

• Harrison Scholarship through the University Honors Program
• Provost’s Student Academic Achievement Award
• Research Grant through NASA and the Ohio Space Grant Consortium
• Ohio Bioinformatics Consortium Scholarship
• National Merit Scholarship
• Ohio Academic Scholarship

What are your future plans?

I plan to attend graduate in the fall.  I hope to obtain either a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering or a dual Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering and Master’s of Business Administration.  I am particularly interested in the fields of biomechanics, orthopedics, and prosthetic implants.  Eventually I would like to work as a project manager in some area of medical device design.