As I began to reflect on my first year at UC, the suggestion to describe the three most

significant events of my freshman year was surprisingly complicated for me to address. When I
started thinking about the events that defined my first year of college, I realized that it was a year
of such drastic change that it was hard to narrow down which eperiences were most important. I
easily chose my first two eperiences as becoming involved with !ngineers Without "orders and
participating in the University #onors $rogram%s "iomedical &esearch 'entoring $rogram. It
was a little harder to narrow down my third event, but I eventually decided that it was my
introduction to the co(op program and the process of working closely with my advisor to secure a
position.
)f my three significant events, *oining !ngineers Without "orders was paramount for
many reasons. It was the most en*oyable way that I tried to meet new people and in the process
of contributing to our pro*ect, I learned many important skills that were not part of my freshman
curriculum or my curriculum at all. As I helped work on our pro*ect to implement a borehole
system in a village in +anzania, I learned how to make budgets, how to conduct bid evaluations,
and the basic mechanisms of a borehole and pump system. ,inally, it opened my mind to the
possibility of traveling internationally while I am in college. "efore I learned about the travel
eperiences of other members of !ngineers Without "orders, I did not consider international
travel a valuable part of my education and I thought what money I had could be better spent,
invested, or saved. After I saw pictures from visits and heard the stories of playing soccer with
village residents, bartering in a local market, or going on a safari, I decided that no matter the
cost, I need to travel to +anzania before I graduate from college.
'y second significant event, participating in the "iomedical &esearch 'entoring
$rogram, was meaningful in helping to discern my career aspirations and important to me
securing a co(op position, which is my third significant eperience. After participating in the
"iomedical &esearch 'entoring $rogram, I realized that I could not devote my entire career to
conducting research. I could see myself doing research part time or helping run clinical trials, but
I cannot *ust do research and not interact with the people I am trying to help. +his realization was
important to me because it came early enough in my college career that I can pursue other
possibilities I have kicked around like becoming a doctor or working as a biomedical engineer in
an industry position. Conducting research during my spring semester was important to securing a
co(op position because it gave me something to talk about during interviews, and was actually
what set me apart in the applicant pool for the co(op position I ended up accepting.
'y third event, searching for a co(op position and accepting a position in a lab at
Washington University in -t. .ouis, was significant because it taught me valuable skills to find a
*ob and was the culmination of the hard work I had invested in my first year of college. +he
principal investigator of the lab, /r. $irooz !ghtesady, is the cardiothoracic surgeon(in(chief at
-t. .ouis Children%s #ospital0 his lab at Washington University studies congenital heart diseases.
I was reluctant to consider this position since I had discovered that I was not interested in a
career in research, but my co(op advisor and students that had worked with /r. !ghtesady told
me that working with him was one of the best ways to prepare myself for medical school and he
is a profound teacher, healer, and researcher. +he process of finding this position and deciding
whether to accept it was *ust as important as the result of securing an amazing position. I applied
to many industry positions besides the lab position, and was invited to two interviews. +he first
interview I had was with !thicon and I thought it did not go well at all and was glad I had the
other interview as well. I thought my answers to the personality 1uestions were mediocre at best,
and the only technical 1uestion had to do with statics, which has been my second to worst class
so far. /espite my impressions, the interviewer offered me a position the net week, which
demonstrated to me that I did not need to be so hard on myself about my interview skills. When I
received the offer from /r. !ghtesady%s labs, I then had to spend a great deal of time and energy
reflecting on which offer I wanted to accept. +o help inform myself, I reached out to other
biomedical engineers that had worked with /r. !ghtesady, and their high praise of him ended up
convincing me to accept his offer. +his reiterated the importance of networking, and helped
epand my network.
When I began my freshman year, I was not sure what path I wanted to take within
biomedical engineering, but I was willing to try anything, so decided to start with research. -ince
I was a freshman with a heavy course load and no prior research eperience, it was frustrating
and fruitless at first trying to find a position. I started looking for ways to make myself more
marketable as a student researcher. I discovered +he )ffice of Undergraduate &esearch,
-cholarly !ndeavors and Creative $ractice. It facilitated undergraduate research workshops and
the &esearch, !ducation and Creative )pportunities 2etwork 3&!C)24 mentoring program as
ways to involve undergraduates in research. 'y participation in both of these programs,
especially the &!C)2 mentoring program, is the reason I was able to find a research position.
+he &!C)2 mentoring program paired undergraduates interested in research with other
undergraduates who had already conducted research so they could help them network and take
the necessary steps to find a position. 'y mentor, 5acob, who was also a biomedical engineer,
helped me write a C6, complete certain certifications that improved my 1ualifications to conduct
research, and network with researchers and professors with whom he had formed relationships.
#e was also one of the students that had worked with /r. !ghtesady and helped convince me to
accept the position with him. +he &!C)2 mentor program was so influential to my ability to
find a research position, I have decided to become a &!C)2 mentor when I return to UC in the
fall so I can pay forward the invaluable advice and assistance I received. I am also interested in
using my gifts and talents to give back to the community and society and by becoming an
!ngineering Ambassador for the College of !ngineering and a mentor for one of the 7reater
Cincinnati "oys and 7irls Clubs near campus.
&eflecting on the events of my freshman year reminds me of the goals I have set and the
steps I will have to take net year to achieve them. It also ecites me to think about the
opportunities that I have to look forward to this year, such as moving to -t. .ouis to work with
/r. !ghtesady, and continuing to work with !ngineers Without "orders. )ne lesson I learned the
hard way last year was not to take on too much responsibility. +aking as many classes as I could
and doing research really taed me and discouraged me. +herefore, I am being more careful in
the future to slowly add more responsibility to figure out what I can handle. +wo pieces of
advice I would like to give myself as I enter my second year are to be open(minded and to meet
people that are different than me in a way broadens my horizons and improves me. +hese pieces
of advice are especially important this coming year because I will be moving to -t. .ouis in the
spring and living there for four months and I know no one from there. +o prepare myself to
accomplish everything I want to net year and take full advantage of the honors program, I will
need to start preparing this summer. A few of the many things I will need to do include applying
to volunteer at the "oys and 7irls Club, applying to be a &!C)2 mentor, reading publications
from /r. !ghtesady%s lab, and locating housing in -t. .ouis. It will be another busy year, but I
am ecited to see how it turns out.