When Engineering major Hannah Nelson first walked into Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Grand Rapids, she knew she’d found her passion.
“I could see the direct impact of the prosthetics and orthotics that they were designing and how these devices helped to positively change the lives of patients,” she said.
Mary Free Bed, a facility that was founded in 1891 for people who couldn’t afford health care, offers specialized physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) programs and services.
“I knew I wanted to work on medical devices when I saw how they were able to dramatically increase patient mobility. Working at Mary Free Bed had an outstanding impact on me,” she explained.
Nelson chose to attend MSU to help her achieve her goals and aspirations. Upon arriving, she was paired with her mentor in Women in Engineering (WIE) Connect, a program that teams upper class student mentors with incoming first-year students. As she has progressed through her academic career, she now leads the WIE Connect program.
“My mentor and I had a great relationship. It helped me get adjusted to college life and created a very supportive environment to get me started. Now leading this program, I am able to help fuel the success of the young women beginning to study engineering programs.” Today, Nelson is a junior at MSU studying Applied Engineering Sciences (AES), with a concentration in technical sales.
Program Director Laura Genik said AES blends the technical strengths of engineering with savvy business skills for students like Nelson.
“Our unique interdisciplinary program prepares Spartan graduates to be technically sound and business ready. AES also has one of the highest placement rates in the university,” Genik said.
AES develops undergraduates in six focus areas:
- Business Analytics with a data science minor
- Business Law
- Computer Science
- Packaging
- Supply Chain Management
- Technical Sales
AES students benefit from scholarship support, including a prominent fund inspired by the spirit of the Olympics. Nelson is among the engineering students aided by the College’s Olympic Scholarship.
“Someday,” Nelson added, “I want to work in the healthcare industry to advance and improve medical devices. My hope is to help assist in addressing mobility issues that I experienced firsthand at Mary Free Bed.”
Written by Patricia Mroczek.
MSU College of Engineering Media and Public Relations page