Junior Emily Yang, originally from Cypress, Texas, recently placed first in the Science in Plain English Competition. She tells us more about the competition and being comfortable outside of one's comfort zone.
When did you know you wanted to major in biomedical engineering?
I have a congenital heart disease called Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), which is a rare combination of four heart defects. For most of my life, I was lucky to not have any significant problems, but when I was 14, I collapsed out of nowhere and had to be rushed to the hospital. The doctors told me that my heartbeat had dropped to an extremely low rate indefinitely, and they told me that I would need surgery for an artificial pacemaker.
As jarring as the entire situation was, it worked out for the better because it indirectly introduced me to biomedical engineering. I became fascinated by this
innocuous metal box that could fix my heart, almost “magically.” Majoring in BME seemed like the natural next step.
What has been your favorite course so far?
Within biomedical engineering, I’m interested in pacemaker research and tissue/cell engineering, specifically cardiovascular research. I’m currently taking Cellular and Molecular Biomechanics with Dr. Baker. It’s a technical elective, so it’s not too strictly structured, and I can focus more time on engaging with the material on a deeper level. It’s been pretty gratifying to learn how basic physical principles build off each other to form more complex concepts. The class has definitely challenged my critical thinking skills and allowed me to be more vocal in class.
What do you want to do with your BME degree?
I originally wanted to go to graduate school, but I’ve recently pivoted to pursuing a path as a physician-scientist. The career path of academic medicine appeals to me in its division between research and clinical care.
You participated and placed first for the Science in Plain English competition, how was your experience?
It was actually a spur-of-the-moment decision for me, but I’m so glad that I went through with it. I had never done something like this before, aside from the 3MT in my engineering communications class, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The night before the contest registration was due, I was still debating on whether I should enter. Despite having two exams the next day, I spontaneously pulled up a blank Google Doc and started writing up a hypothetical speech.
I decided to talk about my research with Dr. Baker, which involves creating an oral therapeutic for atherosclerosis using a specific sugar found in green seaweed. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. I had so much fun trying to creatively break down my project to a lay audience, and I think I spent three hours that first night playing around with different ideas. I definitely was a nervous wreck during the competition though—my hands would not stop shaking!
What were your main takeaways from the competition?
Throughout college, I’ve learned how rewarding it can be when you become comfortable with the uncomfortable, and this competition is quite a fitting example. This pushed me out of my comfort zone in every conceivable way. There were many points where I considered giving up, but choosing to challenge myself paid off in the end. Even if I hadn’t won, participating in the competition was meaningful in it of itself because I became reconnected with the big-picture implications of my project and how my work fit into it. One of the judges also made a comment about how much he liked the creativity of my speech, which actually sparked my interest in the field of science communication. Most of my classes were spent trying to understand the engineering concepts, not on how to communicate them. This experience drove home how important and often overlooked scientific communication is, and more emphasis needs to be placed on it in the engineering community
