Hello, my name is Kadé (of course you already know that if you’re here). Currently, I’m a sophomore at IUPUI who’s majoring in Biomedical Engineering; the only minors I’m thinking of pursuing are mathematics  and physics. I chose BME after realizing that I’m the kind of person who likes to study/being involved in many different subjects at once; and BME lets me do that. All throughout my academic career, I always assumed Biology would be my major since being in the medical field (one way or another) has always been my goal. However, upon discovering my current major, I realized BME was the best choice for me because it allows me to be creative; while still pursuing a career in the medical field.

My work experience up until now, has ranged from the fast-food industry, to education, and practically everything in between. Alternatively, the pass couple of years have mostly been education-related (e.g. tutor, mentor, camp counselor, etc.). Since graduating high school, I haven’t been as involved as I’d like to be when it comes to volunteering. Though, as a current member of the Society of Women Engineers, Alpha Lambda Delta, and Phi Eta Sigma, I’m gradually getting more hours.

Out of all the character traits I’ve developed over the years, I believe that my strongest skills and strengths are organization & communication. Partaking in different events and busy, daily life activities, has forced me to easily organize things more efficiently. For communication, having the opportunity to work with so many diverse people, from different communities and backgrounds compared to mine, has given me the ability to positively work with virtually anyone. Most importantly, it has expanded my mindset and point of view for almost everything around me. These experiences I’ve pick up have made me a more open-minded person, however, one that still stands strong by their own personal beliefs. 

For instance, working as a camp counselor this summer with over 40 high school girls (ranging from the age 13-18) helped me come to the realization that: I’m a lot better with people than I originally assumed! During P.O.W.E.R (Preparing Outstanding Women for Engineering Roles) camp, there were times when we’d tried to form close relationships with the campers, but at the same time, remind them that we were still the “authority figures”. By the end of camp, my personal group of students had formed positive relationships with one another. Even now, though camp is over, we all still keep in touch to check up on one another. As one of my favorite inspirational authors, Simon Sinek once said, “One of the best paradoxes of leadership is a leader’s need to be both stubborn and open-minded. A leader must insist on sticking to the vision and stay on course to the destination. But he must be open-minded during the process.”

Since last semester I’ve decided to completely change my major from biomedical engineering (BME) to mechanical engineering (ME); grasping a better understanding of classical engineering for my undergraduate degree will personally benefit me more post-graduation. Also, I’ve decided to partake in the dual bachelor’s and master’s degree in ME program that the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology offers through IUPUI.

Other things that have changed about me over the course of my spring internship is my involvement throughout campus. I will be the Day Director for this year’s P.O.W.E.R camp and in addition, one of the Ambassadors for the School of Engineering and Technology (ASSET) for the school year of 2016-17. All in all, I’m very proud of the progress I’ve made in such a small timeframe. 

Over the course of a year, I've dramatically grown both as an individual and a student: I became a FIRST Robotics Competition Mentor during the Spring 2017 semester, became secretary of the Applied Computing Club (ACC), presented our research in glaucoma for the last time at ARVO in Baltimore, directed P.O.W.E.R Camp as the day director for the second summer in a row, and began both my engineering internship and professional career at Rolls-Royce. Now, I enter my senior year at IUPUI as a Mechanical Engineering undergraduate who's more than excited to start off her offer in Service Engineering for Defense at Rolls-Royce next summer.