Mari Tomizawa
Hometown: Muncie, IN
Class of: 2016
E-mail: mtomizawa@purdue.edu
Why I chose Purdue?
Purdue has a fantastic focus on cultivating students into confident professionals. The immense opportunities for gaining industry and/or research experience while building a robust network through professors, alumni, and partnerships with other organizations are diverse and up-to-date with real-world demands. Professors and your own classmates will set the bar high while also being there to support you and advocate for your skills even long after you graduate.
Why I chose Engineering and BME?
I am the first engineering major in my family in the United States. I had never even heard of engineering until the Women in Engineering Program at Purdue reached out to me for a college visit when I was in high school. While on my college visit, I toured the Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) program and saw students demonstrating musical instruments they had designed and built for special needs children. I was blown away by how confident and happy these students were with their engineering majors and futures. It really hit me then that engineers can make a powerful but also personal impact on the world. I chose BME because I find myself always motivated by the knowledge what I work on and learn can better someone’s life and even save it.
Extra-curricular activities:
During my freshman and sophomore years I did 4 semesters of Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS), a program where students work with real-world partners to create real engineering deliverables. I found my work experience from EPICs invaluable to obtaining my first co-op! I was also involved in the Women in Engineering Program at Purdue where I received mentorship as a freshman and later mentored students as a sophomore. During my junior and senior years I have been involved in the Purdue Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and am their current director of professional development. I am also a digital artist and do graphic design work for local Purdue organizations and have been designing our official BME shirts for the past 3 years!
Engineering-related experience/CO-OP/Intern/Research:
I have completed 2 years of work experience, equivalent to 6 co-op rotations or internships, in Warsaw, IN, at Zimmer Biomet, which is currently the 2nd largest orthopedic company in the world. During those two years I played key roles in implementing local and global continuous improvement projects by working between quality and IT departments both on local teams and corporate teams. Working with quality, manufacturing, and operations is especially motivating in a medical device company because we are some of the last people to directly interact with a product before it goes into a patient!
Post-graduation plans:
I plan on going directly into industry after graduating. I plan on eventually obtaining a masters after working a few years in industry.