Biomedical engineering major: Claremont, N.H.

Why Bucknell?

"I found Bucknell online and it fit the profile. It had a good reputation and I visited in the Fall of my junior year. There is just this intangible allure to Bucknell that made it stand out from the best of the best universities in this country. I was sold on Bucknell within hours of setting foot on campus. Everywhere else I looked was just moved down the list. I applied to Bucknell for early decision, was accepted, and everything was done by Dec. 15."

Biomedical engineering

"I'm hoping to get into biomedical engineering research after graduation.

"The thing that originally drew me to the program and field is that there are so many options. It's wide open. You can graduate with a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering and go on to do dozens of things — everything from patent law, scientific research, innovation, teaching at the secondary or college level. The doors are so wide open. It really is an emerging field.

"The program I've been involved in this past summer is the Institute for Leadership in Technology and Management (ILTM). I'm continuing work on a senior design project started by the class that graduated in May on a medical delivery device with Geisinger Health Systems.

"I'm working with a team of six people on developing a plan for commercialization of this product. After six weeks of market research and focus groups, we are advising Geisinger with our opinion on whether they should market the product themselves or sell it to an established company, and what to do with the intellectual property rights. ILTM is a great opportunity to explore that kind of work. It's opened my eyes to how much more there is behind the scenes. I'm an engineer. I build, tweak, and prototype things. I'm a very technical personal. But after I pass a piece of technology on to management, there is just so much more they do that I never realized."

Bucknell Jazz Band

"I play the French horn and joined the Symphonic Band my first year. I'm also a jazz pianist and am joining the Bucknell Jazz Band full time.

"In addition to that, six friends and I have put together a jazz combo called the Swing Set. We've done shows on campus at Uptown just about every semester. Our biggest thing so far was last semester when we played at the reception at the annual Board of Trustees dinner. That was a lot of fun.

"The thing is if you want to play an instrument, there's a seat here for you — especially in the Symphonic Band. In fact, for example, a majority of the band is engineers; that’s something you don’t see in a lot of schools.”

More about My Interests

• Biomedical engineering
• Institute for Leadership in Technology and Management
• Symphonic Band
• Jazz Band