Diamond Head

What’ve you enjoyed most about your area of study? Was there a particular discovery, new skill or way of thinking, or insight that you found especially valuable? Please share an example from your favorite class or experience.

 The STS department has provided a home for my questions about how science has developed, specifically what individual, social, and ideological motivations have factored into pushes for innovation. In exploring this history, I’ve also created space to imagine new futures. One especially transformative idea I’ve learned through MIT’s STS program is Donna Haraway’s actor-network theory. This theory asserts that everything within our social world exists in relation with each other. Exploring this concept through my STS coursework has led me to more critical questions in bioengineering centered around how medicine becomes a part of an individual’s life and what transformations take place. Examining these effects have given me a new angle to consider when trying to improve patients’ lived experiences.

How does the knowledge from this field, or your interest in it, combine with your other major or minor studies at MIT?

Using the strategies and thinking that STS has given me allows me to examine bioengineering critically, especially considering the sociological effect of biomedical innovation. My studies allow me to see potential for bioengineering to shape our society while also grounding me in the history of these social interactions. I’ve had the opportunity to examine the ethics of biological engineering, to consider how biopower affects the life sciences, and to look at how the structure of science and lab work creates space for certain kinds of innovation. In this way I’ve been geared with knowledge to make intentional decisions about how I pursue science.

An MIT education includes study in the scientific, technical, social science, arts, and humanities fields. How do you think that wide range of knowledge and perspectives will be valuable to you – for your career success and for your enjoyment of life?

 I deeply value my technical expertise and the more specialized scientific knowledge I’ve developed through my studies. My studies in SHASS have allowed me to apply that knowledge across disciplines, to seek throughlines, and to understand people. To me, the point of everything I learn is to better understand people, populations, and cultures, so having a wide range of knowledge allows me to examine these from many angles, improving my overall thinking.

What are your plans for the future?

My ultimate goal is to work at the intersection of bioengineering and public health, and I’m pursuing further studies in biological engineering to get me closer to that goal.