University of Vermont
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering is really specific and it’s an intense major.
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: White Straight Female
Summary
I’m part of Generation Outreach and I’m also in VIA-AFECT.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: White
Sexual Orientation: Straight
High School Experience: Public School in the suburbs of Chicago, IL with about 600 students in my graduating class. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering is really specific and it’s an intense major.
Minor: None
Extracurricular Activities: I’m part of Generation Outreach and I’m also in VIA-AFECT. For Generation Outreach, we go to homes with people who have Alzheimer’s or Dementia and we play songs with them and interact, so they have activities going on throughout the day. For club AFECT, we go to Church Street and play with little kids at a homeless shelter while their parents are trying to get back on their feet. We entertain the kids while they’re gone. I’m also part of Inter-Residents Association, the Biomedical Engineering Society, and UVM Eco-Reps.
Have any of your extracurricular activities had a particularly big impact on your experience?
It has helped balance my schoolwork and my mental health because I like to keep busy and in college it’s hard because there are no parents telling you what to do all the time. It helped me continue to do positive things in my free time but also keep me on track to complete other tasks.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
It is heavy in the first two years. I will be a sophomore this year, but I took 2 classes online this summer to help ease my workload, I will be able to take only 16 credits, instead of 18. For the first 3 semesters of my major, we take 17-18 credits to ease the course load for the next two years. During that time, we pair up with hospitals and do internships and hands-on work. After the first two years, each semester is only 14 credits so we can focus on our projects and work. Because of the complications with the first two years, many students drop out. By persevering through that, I have gained much more knowledge than others may not have in Biomedical Engineering elsewhere.
Is there anything that you feel the Biomedical Engineering department does especially well or especially poorly?
They do a great job with the concept of the project. Biomedical Engineering is new at UVM and they’re working on making the projects more applicable, but running through the project is hard. They have a good idea, but as far the labs, it is kind of trial and error and see how the students accept this new form of lab procedure. They’re making sure that the students are more diligent with what they’re doing and understand what they’re doing, but they are also trying to figure out how hard they can make these labs for students to understand them but still be able to succeed in whatever they’re creating.
What is your favorite class you’ve taken for your major?
Computer Science, but I did not like it at first. Because I’m in Cells, Tissues, and Engineering for the track of Biomedical Engineering we have to take those type of classes so if we do Bio-Sensing we are capable. I was bad in Computer Science, but towards the end of the year, it was rewarding to be able to write a specific code and be able to do that without help. I felt very accomplished in myself. So that changed and was one of my favorite things.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s collaborative. I’ve never once felt pressured by anyone of any of my classes. The other students are there to encourage you. It’s competitive but it’s in a healthy way and everyone helps each other. We do many group projects that are complicated tasks. It’s a growing environment and everyone is nice.
How accessible are your professors?
They have been great. I ask a lot of questions because I would rather be safe than sorry. I e-mail my professors often and I’ll talk to them in-class and outside of class. I can always meet with them and I’ve never had a professor that wasn’t willing to interact with me. They’re always open to office hours and they love seeing you come in. The teachers are willing to help the students if the students are willing to spend time outside of class to better themselves.
What made you choose your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I’m very happy with my choice. I choose Biomedical Engineering because I tore both of my ACL’s and was in and out of therapy and hospitals. I was familiar with the medical aspect of it and since I was little I’ve always been interested in nature, which is the biological aspect. Throwing those two together just made sense.
Reasons to Attend
1) The simplistic humanity of everything. Everyone is nice and welcoming. I always feel love everywhere I go.
2) The number of clubs we have at UVM and if you want to make your own club they’re very open with that. People always say when you go to college don’t be afraid to get involved. UVM says it, but also emphasizes it, and acts on it.
3) UVM is a very eco-friendly school. They have The Real Food Challenge and they try to bring in food in within a 50-mile radius. UVM and the Burlington community are into supporting local. We have farmers’ markets in the Dudley H. Davis Center and really support the local farmers and everything that has nothing to do with industrializing.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) I was able to get a Presidential Scholarship because of my grades, but UVM itself is expensive and it didn’t help that my family couldn’t get financial aid. I feel that I’m getting my money’s worth by participating in as many things as I possibly can, but if you are not participating in being active in your college life you will have the feeling that it was not worth paying the money.
2) I took two online classes and I completed one with an A, but the class itself was expensive because I took it at UVM. If I took it somewhere it was less expensive, but it would not have counted for my GPA and would have counted as transfer credit. It’s a little frustrating in order for it to count that you have to pay way more than you could elsewhere.
3) We have a lot of books that are required for us which are expensive. They sell them to the bookstore and they are specific to UVM itself and we don’t use them that much.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman: I was in the Wellness Environment and I’m still in the Wellness Environment. They try to encourage that no one is doing anything illegal inside his or her dorm. They know that students do things that they should not be doing, they are just very strict on making sure they don’t do that in those specific dorms. I lived in the Central Campus Residence Hall. I was in a double and had one roommate and we are rooming together next year.
Sophomore: I’ll be living in Redstone in Paterson, which is part of PWP which is Chris Wright Patterson Complex. I will live here, again in a double.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I have never once seen or been in a situation or heard of anyone like stealing, robberies or feeling uncomfortable in terms of sexual assaults. There are blue lights all over campus and if you’re walking by and you feel unsafe you can press that and some police will come. I’ve had soccer pretty late at night and I had to walk across the entire campus by myself and I didn’t feel threatened or unsafe, and at that hour no one’s really out anyways. Overall, I feel extremely safe. There are police and everyone is nice. Sometimes authoritative people can make you feel scared, instead of being friendly, but I’ve never felt that.
What is your favorite off-campus restaurant?
I love going to Brennan’s Pub & Bistro, which is in the heart of campus in the Dudley H. Davis Center. They have good paninis, sandwiches, chicken tenders, and shakes.
What is your favorite place to get away from campus?
I know a lot of people who go to Canada very often. I plan on going to Montreal this upcoming year, but I haven’t been able to go yet because my course load has been so difficult.
How was the transitioning from Chicago to Burlington, VT?
It was hard but having a supportive family really helped. I thought this was the best place for me to go. I told myself that when I’m going I will go to work hard so it is rewarding while I’m here and not that I’m not wasting time being away from my family. That helps me do well and deal with being so far from my family, but I came home every break that we had and I keep in touch with my sisters and mom and dad every day. That makes it a little better.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
There are a lot of clubs and activities that I participate in. Even if I was not part of those clubs, there are multiple events run by different clubs. UVM has a lot of unique groups that are very open. For example, I have good friends in ROTC and go hang out with them at night. I know that some of the CAD Labs are open 24/7 and if students didn’t finish their work, they could go there at night.
I didn’t party a lot, because I’m not into that and don’t like the aspect of it. There are many options in Burlington if you don’t want to go to parties. Greek life isn’t big at UVM. Percentage-wise, it’s [about 10%]. I know that Greek life does have a lot of events where you can attend also if you are not in Greek life. I love going to Church Street because it has a lot of nice restaurants and shopping centers. Going to Lake Champlain is also great.
How happy are you with the options in Burlington and around UVM? And is there anything you would change?
I couldn’t be happier. I am happy with studying at UVM. I love to invite my friends to come over to Vermont. Everyone seems genuine and all of my classes have been more than helpful and I’m very content with my grades.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
I met my closest friends in my dorm. Through the different clubs, I’ve met many great people but my closest friend is my roommate and the girls from my floor. We all went to the meeting event to get to know people around you and we became friends.
How would you describe the overall social scene at UVM?
It is positive. You could walk around campus and people will make random conversation with you. People have longboards and make conversations that way. People help each other with new bike tricks. I know people who will share rides with each other. Everyone seems extremely friendly and open to interacting with new people.
To what extent do you feel people of different races and sexual orientation mix socially?
Mixing occurs for people who are open-minded about it and I have never had an issue. It’s hard for me to speak on certain issues, because [I’m White], and that [diminishes my opinion]. One of the cons of the University of Vermont is that it’s very liberal and people on campus [protest often]. There are flyers everywhere all the time. One of the biggest things was the Black Lives Matter movement. I think that’s great if people want to stand up for what they believe in, but I get aggravated if people are protesting in buildings where people want to learn or in classrooms. Some teachers don’t want to do deal with that and cancel the class for the day. That is frustrating to me because I’m out of state and my parents are paying a lot of money for me to go here, and I don’t want my classroom to be evacuated because people are protesting.
Careers
Have the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs and have you used the career office?
I work at the hospital on campus, and in one of my freshman year lab classes, the teacher reached out to the doctors and other local hospitals and asked what are some things that you’re trying to develop. I was able to help make an ultrasound task trainer. My group and I designed different types of obstacle courses with 3D imaging and then 3D printed it. It helps the doctors and obstetricians at the hospital with their needle placement. They can practice their needle placement outside of the womb instead of on live mothers.