Susannah E.

$1,000 Scholarships.com Health Scholarship Award Winner

My interest in biomedical engineering began when I happened to see an article on it in the newspaper. I was unaware such a field existed, but since I was still curious after reading the article, I got onto the Internet to look for more information. It didn’t take long for me to realize that biomedical engineering could be the profession I was looking for. Although I had never really considered engineering as a career, this particular discipline stood out because it combined a number of my interests together in a way I didn’t know could be done. While I have always been interested in the human body, I was never very excited about the idea of becoming a doctor. I enjoyed math and chemistry at school, but I did not see myself in a career limited to just one of those topics either. Biomedical engineering, though, was something that I actually felt passionate about.

In addition to combining most of my academic interests, biomedical engineering is attractive to me as a way I can contribute to the betterment of society. I am a congenital quadrilateral amputee and have depended on biomedical engineering—in the form of prosthetics—for much of my life. They have greatly enhanced my quality of life, so I completely understand how beneficial medical devices can be. Having been blessed with such assistance for so many years, I would love to have the ability to give the same to others. Whether I design a better prosthetic, develop surgical tools that make operations easier, or build better imaging machines to catch diseases earlier, I will be providing a valuable contribution to many lives.