Alejandra has been passionate about the intersection of medicine and technology since middle school. With mentors like her older brother encouraging her, Alejandra joined Next Engineers: Engineering Academy during her sophomore year of high school. Now a senior and preparing to graduate, Alejandra reflects on the impact the Engineering Academy has had on her academic life—and how it has inspired her decisions for her life after high school.
"Engineering Academy has helped me develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills because in the healthcare industry, or engineering in general, you really have to think outside the box," Alejandra notes. “It has made me more independent in my critical thinking skills and has taught me how to not stick strictly to the books.” If there’s one thing Alejandra has found value in from her Engineering Academy experience, it has been learning how to apply what she already knows to real-life situations—and finding innovative ways to solve problems and collaborate as a team. "In the Engineering Academy, I learned to solve collaboration issues by finding ways to engage everyone. If someone wasn’t contributing as much, I’d fit them into a part of the project that piqued their interest. It pushed me to think quickly and take initiative in ways I hadn’t before," she reflects.
When it comes to her favorite Engineering Academy activity, Alejandra really enjoyed “Mind Your Head,” which explored traumatic brain injuries and helmet design. During this activity, her team built a helmet to protect a water balloon from a 2-meter drop by layering sponges to extend impact time. She appreciated getting to learn firsthand from the bioengineers who came to speak with Academy students. “I loved this design challenge because it involved testing and refining the design, so it made the experience rewarding and engaging,” Alejandra says.
Though she has yet to make the often-tough decision of what university to attend, Alejandra is sure that she wants to pursue bioengineering on the pre-med track. “My brother has influenced me a lot because he started college when I was in middle school. So, he exposed me to the different career pathways that engineering colleges offer.” Though she greatly attributes her career path aspirations to the mentors in her life, Alejandra always had a curiosity for medicine, biology, and science. "In my free time throughout middle school, I would always get books related to the field out of curiosity,” she says. The positive influences in her life, including her experience with Engineering Academy, further served to solidify these aspirations. "Listening about bioengineering—how you can engineer tissues and design medically relevant technology—was really interesting to me. It combines engineering and medicine, and I can contribute to research as well."
And Alejandra is very interested in research. Currently, she’s analyzing how structural variation – differences in larger segments of DNA – affects gene expression. "Earlier sequencing methods left gaps in the genome, creating 'dark regions' with missing data. Using long sequencing, I was able to fully annotate these regions with the help of Dr. Konkel and Dr. Loftus (researchers at Clemson University). Through this, I confirmed that structural variation does impact gene expression in human samples," said Alejandra. She is hoping for her research to be published later this year.
She feels grateful for the support of her family, the mentorship she has received from industry experts, and the many doors that Next Engineers: Engineering Academy has opened for her. Alejandra will graduate from high school and the Engineering Academy later this spring – we’re excited to see where her journey takes her next!
