Alexander Shrum  | Co-Op Program

Why did you choose biomedical engineering?

Throughout school I always gravitated towards math and science based courses, and I was interested in engineering for the problem solving aspect. I was very interested in becoming a doctor or staying in a healthcare related major, as I applied to nursing programs at other schools, as well. Ultimately, I figured BME would give the best mix of exposure to healthcare and challenging coursework and I am happy to have chosen BME at Purdue.

What did you do in the co-op program?

While on co-op I worked for the product discover team as a part of the Aortic Intervention group.  My team specifically was responsible for coming up with new ideas for minimally invasive devices relevant to the aorta and its branch vessels.  I did a lot of work collaborating with full-time engineers designing next generation stent graft products and evaluating them in test deployment environments.

My main project involved a lot of computer based work. I was responsible for designing and building a modular set of different vessel anatomy for in house use to test the new products we made. I can’t really get too descriptive but it was a very rewarding experience seeing something I put a lot of effort into end up successful and used by the team! 

What was your favorite memory from your co-op experience?

Cook was such a friendly place to work that I will definitely miss a lot of things. They did a “Cake Day” each month where they bought ice cream cakes to celebrate all the employees with birthdays that month that I always looked forward to!

On a slightly different note, there was a time when someone from a different engineering team noticed work from my project and asked if I could help design models for a specific test he was creating.  It’s one thing to have full-time engineers act friendly towards you, but its another thing to have them trust you enough to design something for their work.  I loved being seen as a valuable employee and having the opportunity to work alongside the full-time employees on projects like this. 

What advice do you have for incoming students?

Purdue has so many opportunities for you as a student and you should never forget that. I have had many awesome experiences from my time here that involved saying yes and figuring out the logistics later.  Keep grinding on the coursework but there’s much more to college than your GPA, so don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone and take advantage of the different opportunities you see!