Class of 2021
Jeffrey Benjamin Ai
What was your proudest moment?
Turning in the Biomechanics lab report after pulling an all nighter.
Patrick Barhouse
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
The most valuable aspect of my BME experience has been the collective passion and excitement among faculty members regarding their fields and research. Their enthusiasm has helped me to learn not only biomedical engineering material, but also critical thinking and humanistic applications. I look forward to putting these skills to use in my future medical career!
Kalley Berg
What are your plans for after graduation?
After graduation I plan on working as a Development Engineer at CHF Solutions in Eden Prairie, MN.
What will you miss most?
I will miss the people I met through BME, I have gained some of my closest friends these last 4 years.
Shelby Bergstrom
What will you miss most?
I’ll definitely miss my BME family the most because I love how close we are, but the memes are a close second! I will also miss all the professors that helped me when I was struggling because I know they truly cared!
Elise Berning
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
The most valuable aspect of my BME experience was the resilience and confidence that I have built to take on any challenge. After BME, I feel confident to take on my post-graduation plans of research followed by medical school.
Michael J. Braman
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
Being able to work on challenging problems with incredibly talented and interesting people in the BME community was the most valuable part of my BME experience.
Rebecca Breuer
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
Participating in the co-op program allowed me to gain valuable industry experience, network with engineers, and apply knowledge from the classroom to a real-life situation.
What was your proudest moment?
My proudest moment of my BME career was doing well academically, physically, and mentally during the dreaded junior year.
Joseph Broomhead
What made you choose BME?
I wanted to help people using the medical field and my problem solving skills.
What was most valuable about your BME experience?
BME helped give me perspectives on all my work that were interdisciplinary. I can now take my mechanical engineering knowledge and apply physiological conditions in my future work.
What will you miss most?
Daily classes and struggling in Jackson 2-137.
Emily Chandler
What will you miss most?
The late night study groups before an exam.
What are your plans for after graduation?
Beginning my career as a process engineer.
Claire Chen
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
My most valuable moment was applying all my biological and engineering knowledge in every single project.
What will you miss most?
The time we could have in-person classes.
Rachel Cho
What was your proudest moment?
My proudest moment was finishing my classes through junior year as I felt that academically it was one of the most challenging school year.
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
I found most valuable the variety of subjects and topics that we had the opportunity to study.
Amy Elisabeth Choi
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
The most valuable experience I had in BME was probably getting the chance to learn many different things and getting to explore a lot of different disciplines, such as electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, chemistry, biology, etc.
What are your plans for after graduation?
After graduation, I plan to take a job with Accenture as an analyst here in Minneapolis.
Emily Christian
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
While attending the U of M, I have developed personal and professional relationships that will continue to positively impact my life.
What are your plans after graduation?
I will be attending the University of Illinois at Chicago for my Masters in Bioengineering. Thank you to everyone who has helped make this possible for me!
Robin Chu
Kevin Clothier
What will you miss most?
My favorite part about this degree program, and what I will miss the most, will be the people I met throughout my collegiate career. I will never forget the late night study groups, or the early mornings in Jackson Hall.
Dannyelle Donahue
What was your proudest moment?
My proudest moment over my college career has been graduating from this program. It was hard but we did it!
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
My most valuable BME experience was the opportunity to participate in UROP research.
What are your plans for after graduation?
After graduation, I plan to enter the medical device industry in the Twin Cities.
What will you miss most?
I will miss my UMN BME colleagues and I hope we can still connect after graduation.
Andrew Eggers
What was your proudest moment?
My proudest moment was earning my acceptance back into the U of M system after a 7 year break.
What are your plans for after graduation?
I plan to start a career in the industry and spend more time with my family again.
Milagros Fernandez Oromendia
What will you miss most?
Our cohort :) No other group of people I would like to spend three consecutive hours with in Jackson Hall with. What was your proudest moment? My Signals and Systems Final Project with Shelby and Elise!
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
The group chat we had as a class - nothing gets you through college like instantly created course-related memes.
Renee Schauer Finck
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
The thing I found most valuable about my BME experience was the relationships I made along the way with both BME students and faculty. It was these relationships that pushed me to excel the past four years and made me the determined and resilient person I am today.
Justyn Fine
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
The opportunity to learn about biological systems in a rigorously mathematical, quantitative setting.
What are your plans after graduation?
I plan to pursue a PhD in Biophysics. I am not sure where yet, since I have offers from a few institutions, but I hope to work on research related to cellular and molecular biophysics, with a focus on cancer-related studies.
Benjamin Flanagan
What are your plans for after graduation?
After graduation, I'll be entering the medical device industry, preferably working with one of the medical device companies headquartered around the Twin Cities.
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
Being able to study a wide variety of biomedical related topics, and being able to focus on the ones you enjoy the most for your emphasis area.
Braedon Fremling
What are your plans for after graduation?
I am excited to begin my career in the medical device industry.
What was your most rewarding experience?
I really enjoyed working on the senior design project. Throughout the project, working closely with the industry and clinical advisors solidified my passion to work on medical devices.
Rachel Gasser
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
I value the close friends that I made and all of the time we spent together, whether it be studying, suffering, walking to class together, or just hanging out. Couldn't have done it without them! I also value the sense of comradery between our whole class and our groupchat (the memes pulled me through).
Plans for after graduation?
After graduation I am attending one year of graduate school here at UMN to obtain my masters in Biomedical Engineering via the 5 year integrated undergrad/MS program. After that, I hope to work in a clinical setting and use my degree to help those who need it.
Eric Leigh Ginter
What did you find most valuable about the BME experience?
The sense of community that developed among the class of 2021.
What was your favorite BME memory?
Doing my biomechanics group project on modeling the deformation of a mouse's chest cavity.
Joseph Hanson
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
The supportive faculty and tight-knit community of students made my experience in the BME program incredibly fulfilling and gratifying.
What are your plans for after graduation?
I plan to take a gap year and apply to graduate programs for Fall 2022.
Elizabeth Heile
What are your plans for graduation?
After graduation, I will be completing my masters in biomedical engineering through the 4+1 program here at the University of Minnesota, while continuing to work in Process Development at Medtronic.
What will you miss most?
I will miss my friends and classmates the most! BME would have been even more of a struggle without the curious, intelligent, and funny people I was surrounded by every day.
Brooks Hodenfield
What was your proudest moment?
Having my team's research paper accepted into the Design of Medical Devices Conference 2020.
What will you miss most?
All of the late night group study sessions in Nolte.
Cole Homer
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
The most valuable component of my BME experience was the large variety of classes that helped prepare me for any career in the field.
What will you miss most?
The aspect of BME that I will miss the most is the tight-knit community that has developed within my classes over the past four years.
What are your plans for after graduation?
After graduation, I plan to move forward into medical school.
Eesha Asad Irfanullah
What are your plans for after graduation?
This fall, I will be starting medical school at the University of Chicago. I am so grateful to my professors and colleagues in BME for making this possible!
What will you miss the most?
I will miss the BME community!
Theodore Jennings
What will you miss most?
I will miss my close friends I've made in my classes more than anything.
What was your proudest moment?
My proudest moment was when I presented successful data to my lab for the first time.
Joseph Jung
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
The most valuable part of BME is the all-encompassing diversity: in the people, in the material, and in the experience.
Alexandra Kedzierski
What will you miss most?
I’m going to miss spending 8 hours the day before exams in the library with some pizza and pals.
Minwoo Kim
What will you miss the most?
I will miss interacting with my classmates and professors. Many great memories were made together, especially in Jackson Hall 2-137 :)
What are your plans for after graduation?
I will be applying to medical school this summer while taking a much needed (hopefully relaxing) gap year.
Catherine Lee
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
I am so grateful for everything my BME classes, professors, and fellow students have taught me throughout these last four years.
What will you miss most?
I will miss the class GroupMe, late night study sessions at NHH, and most importantly Jackson Hall.
Ellen Lewis
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
I value most from my time spent pursing this degree is my deep friendships and connections I have made along the way along with the deep level of cognitive reasoning that the professors have harvested in us.
What will you miss most?
I will dearly miss my friends and the daily connections with the professors.
Katherine Li
What are your plans for after graduation?
I am moving to Chicago to work at a consulting firm.
What will you miss most?
I will miss the tight knit community of students and professors.
Ashley Marlowe
What was your proudest moment?
My proudest moment was when I finally figured out what a p-value was during my last semester.
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
The most valuable skill I learned from my BME experience was problem solving.
Dominic Marticorena
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
The most valuable part of my experience were the friends that kept me going through tough times.
What are your plans for after graduation?
After graduation, I'll be going to graduate school for biomedical engineering and developing my company.
Helena Neumann
What was your proudest moment?
First semester senior year, I began directed research in the department of Anesthesiology prototyping and problem-solving in cardiac operating rooms. This semester, I evolved it from solo research into a formal program, leading seven students on three different projects. The program has so far been a success and is set up for next year with twenty two students working on eight different projects. I am so excited to watch this program evolve next year as an industry mentor.
What are your plans after graduation?
I have accepted a job at Johnson & Johnson as an Associate Clinical Account Specialist. I will be working in the operating room alongside surgeons doing real-time 3D cardiac mapping and ablating during minimally invasive cardiac ablation procedures. I have always wanted to work in the field of electrophysiology, and I cannot wait to begin my work as a Clinical Account Specialist after 6-9 months of training.
Jasmine D Nguyen
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
My most valuable experience in BME was learning which fields that I am really interested in. BME is unique because we get to learn about multiple disciplines of engineering. During my school career, I learned that I really love mechanics and computer science.
What was your favorite part?
My favorite part of BME was getting to know my classmates. In BME, groupwork is usually incorporated, and while the work team dynamics are not always perfect, I enjoyed getting to know my classmates and their aspirations. I will miss those group interactions the most.
What are your plans for after graduation?
After graduation, I plan to complete my Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering before pursuing a career at a medical device company.
Alexander Nilles
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
The smaller class sizes definitely increased my quality of learning.
What will you miss most?
Late-night studying with my BME buddies.
Kyleigh Pacello
What was your proudest moment?
My proudest moment is graduating from this rigorous program while overcoming all of the challenges imposed by the pandemic in the past year.
What will you miss most?
I am going to miss all of the time we spent together in Jackson 2-137.
Nicholas Patrick
What will you miss most?
The people; the worst part about the pandemic and online classes was not seeing everyone all the time.
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
The junior year curriculum which teaches many different aspects of engineering.
Stella Peckham
What will you miss most?
I'll miss the close-knit BME community, but I look forward to seeing all that our graduating class will accomplish!
What are your plans for after graduation?
After graduation, I will be joining Boston Scientific as a Manufacturing Engineering Intern in Maple Grove, MN.
Kaycee Peek
What will you miss the most?
I will miss the late nights in Lind Hall working with my BME friends on assignments and studying and the joy we would feel when we would complete a long and difficult assignment.
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
I found all of the offered opportunities the most valuable. All of the professors were always willing to help when needed and were always talking to and encouraging us about new opportunities that would come up in the department.
What are your plans for after graduation?
I will be working at Abbott as a Research and Development Engineer in their Structural Interventions group.
Maria Puff
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
I really found the lab experiences in BME to be valuable and enjoyable. The labs provided great hands-on experience to apply concepts and equations that we learned in class.
Breanne Retherford
What was your favorite part about the BME program?
My favorite part of the BME program was the people! Each and every student and teacher added something special to the close-knit group, from the student that stepped up to lead classes and the teacher that provided breaks in class to watch planet earth, to the students sending funny memes in our student group chat and the teachers advocating to focus on mental health.
What are your plans after graduation?
After graduation, I am excited to be doing a Process Development Engineering Co-Op with Boston Scientific in Maple Grove with a number of other Seniors in the BME program!
Journey Roberge
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience? Excluding the many lessons learned in class, the connections made and the friends that I will have for the rest of my life.
What are your plans for after graduation?
I will be applying to medical schools while working as a medical scribe.
Emily Robideau
What are your plans for after graduation?
I will continue working in the medical device industry and plan to pursue a Master's degree sometime in the next few years.
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
I appreciated the exposure to many different multidisciplinary areas of engineering in our classes and to have so many opportunities to hear from and interact with people already working in the medical device industry.
Oren Rosenberg
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
The most valuable aspect of my experience in BME has been the incredible network of students and faculty the department provides. There were always new and exciting opportunities at every corner.
What are your plans for after graduation?
Next year, I will be attending Santa Clara University School of Law to pursue a career in intellectual property and patent law.
Devynn Saunders
What are your plans for after graduation?
I will be working at Boston Scientific in Arden Hills, MN as a supplier engineer in global sourcing.
What will you miss most?
I will miss seeing my best friends every single day in class!
Kalli Schaefer
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
The thing that I found most valuable about my BME experience was being able to see how a degree in BME can make a positive impact in people's lives.
What will you miss most?
The thing that I will miss most is the BME community.
Noah Schmidt
What are your plans for after graduation?
I plan take time off to travel and then come back and find a nice job.
Theodore Schmitz
What was your favorite part about your BME experience?
My favorite part of the BME experience was how close our class became. The BME group chat was always funny, and it made me more comfortable talking to other people in the class. Before the pandemic, we were all pretty tight in person as well. Incredibly proud of this genuinely great group of people, and I know we're going to do great things.
Emmalyn Sethi
What will you miss most?
I will miss facing challenges with my BME pals and will miss the BME community.
What are your plans for after graduation?
After graduation I will be working for Accenture as a Software Architect Analyst in Minneapolis.
Jacob Smith
What will you miss most?
I think what I will miss most about the BME program is the people. As disappointing as it was to have senior year in quarantine, it made me appreciate the small interactions with my classmates that I got in Jackson Hall, in labs, or outside of class.
Morgan Soukup
Being a part of the BME Class of 2021 has been a highlight of my college experience. I have enjoyed getting to meet and interact with so many amazing students and faculty.
What are your plans for after graduation?
After graduation, I will be moving to Boston to work as an engineer at Takeda Pharmaceutical Company.
What will you miss most?
The thing I will miss most about the U of M and the BME department will definitely be the great friends that I have made who have supported me these past 4 years!
Josh Stadler
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
Meeting and getting to know all the BME students & faculty over the years. It has been hard but fun!
What will you miss the most?
I will miss the community that we've created in BME, and weirdly I will miss the many 8+ hour library sessions I had with my pals pre-covid </3.
Matthew Steigauf
What was your proudest moment?
Seeing the enthusiastic response from the patient when we equipped our senior design project onto him for the first time.
What will you miss most?
Being surrounded by so many creative and passionate people everyday.
Cole Theobald
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
I found it most valuable to be able to learn alongside my classmates and interact with them on a daily basis. Each person thinks so uniquely and each have their own expertise and background.
What will you miss most?
The thing that I will miss the most is definitely the people. My classmates and the faculty that I was fortunate enough to meet and interact with during college.
Gavin Turner
What will you miss most?
BME was a tumultuous ride, but I think I'll definitely miss a few parts of it, especially the close friends with a mutual passion for the learning and work we did.
Michelle Uchenik
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
Within the BME program at UMN, I found that there were many resources available to pursue various interests or career goals pertaining to BME. Between professors doing research in a wide variety of topics, club events on various technical skills and career opportunities, or simply older students willing to give advice on classes and careers, there were many opportunities to try explore different interests pertaining to BME.
What are your plans after graduation?
I plan to work as an R&D Engineer to develop and improve cardiac devices.
Lindsey VerMurlen
What are your plans for after graduation?
My plans for after graduation are to begin working as a Systems Engineering in cardiac devices at Medtronic.
What will you miss most?
The thing I will miss most is being surrounded by a community of students who are so willing to help and learn from one another.
Madison Volk
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
The most valuable thing I earned from BME was all of the people I met and friends I made along the way.
What are your plans for after graduation?
After graduation, I will be working as a researcher at the University of Minnesota in the Blazar Lab.
Zoe Weller
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
Through my experiences studying BME, I have gotten the opportunity to learn from incredible staff, faculty, and students in the program. They have all helped me grow in my capabilities, some without them knowing, and I will forever be grateful for every one of them.
What are your plans for after graduation?
This July I begin my studies at the Medical College of Wisconsin to obtain my Doctor of Medicine.
What will you miss most?
As cliché as it may sound, I’ll miss the people of BME the most. The faculty and staff have transformed the way I perceive the biomedical world, and my fellow students have impressed me beyond words.
Emma Wilson
What are your plans for after graduation?
After graduation I will be assuming the role of Manufacturing Engineer at Medtronic in their batteries department, I am excited to use my undergraduate degree to create life-saving medical devices.
Kathryn Woods
What are your plans for after graduation?
I will be working full-time at Optum for UnitedHealth Group in software development.
What will you miss most?
This BME graduating class had a unique bond that I believe most majors don't have and I'll miss that camaraderie once we're all spread out between industry jobs, med school, grad school, etc.
Sylvia Wu
What are your plans for after graduation?
I would like to attend graduate school and get a Master’s degree in biomedical engineering.
What was your proudest moment?
I’m proud of completing my six month co-op at AtriCure. It was a precious experience!
Alexander Yee
What did you find most valuable about your BME experience?
The friends I've made within the program.
What will you miss most?
The proximity to world-class research and symposiums.
Marcos Zachary
What was your proudest moment?
My proudest moment was when I didn't attend school for 14 weeks while studying abroad in Ireland then studied for 8 days straight before finals and got all A's (BME trained me well).
What will you miss most?
I will miss sitting front row with the boys and grinding in sweat lab (RIP sweat lab - aka Mech E computer lab).
What are your plans for after graduation?
After graduation I will be pursuing a PhD at NYU in Biomedical Engineering.