Advice for Future Biomedical Students From the Knee Team

Dear Class of 2019 Biomedical Babes-

As part of the Class of 2018, who has just finished their DAP Biomed project, my team and I would like to give you, the Class of 2019 who are just starting out on their DAP project, some well needed and deserved advice. Our team (Keira, Cindy, Rinda and Krysta) have just finished presenting our device, The KP 360, and we know how stressful the journey you have ahead is. So just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Hello young ladies, my name is Keira Neal and I just wanted to tell you all about how to go into this strong and how not to stress throughout the project. First, going into this project you need to know that it is okay to mess up, everything will not, I repeat will not be perfect. Saying that to say don’t stress at the beginning, it’s the worst thing to do. If you do stess wait till the end when it’s time to present. Second, don’t feel bad about asking the wrong or dumb questions, to your teacher or your partners, because those are the questions no one else wants to ask but they are thinking. The worst questions are the ones unasked. Finally, have fun!!! 🙂

Hello my name is Rinda Gray and I would like to give you advice about this seemingly intimidating and daunting project. First things first, it’s not as scary and intimidating as you think. Do not stress our majorly about this project, because it is okay to make mistakes and have a few failures, my team had some major failures, one of them being the prototype in my hands in the picture below. Think of this project as just another big project, that maybe just means a little more and requires a little bit more work. I learned throughout this project that the more you research and commit to the project, the more you will get done and the less scary the project will feel. One the day of the presentation, try not to stress out too much. The biggest thing you need to do on presentation day, is take a deep breath. Don’t forget to have fun though, you only ever get to do a project like this once.

Hi my name is Cindy and I just want to congratulate you, you’re finally a sophomore! Now it’s time for your DAP project. Don’t worry it isn’t that bad, but you do have to take it seriously. During this project I learned a couple of things, one of which is, you have to use a lot of communication, creativity, thinking and collaboration skills as you go on. It does get rough and stressful at times but it will be alright and worth it at the end if you engage yourself into this project. I also learned that it’s fine to make mistakes because from those you learn to improve and make things better. Some advice I’m going to give ya’ll for this project is to really use your creativity and collaborate with your team members for the creation of your project. It is important to know what’s going on as you move forward with this project. When it’s time to present make sure to use your speech skills that you learned in freshman year, those will be helpful. Have fun and don’t stress it.

Hey 2019! My name is Krysta and this whole experience was incredibly important to me because I have learned a lot about myself. During this project you will have to work really well as a team and that may take a lot of sacrifice and stress. It is important that you try to communicate and work together, and if there are problems or issues that arise address them head on. Your teammates are there to support you and to make sure that your DAP is the least stressful it can be. Some other advice I have is to work hard when you are given time because it may go by faster than you think, before I started this project something I wish someone would have told me to not stress and to keep your cool. I learned that it is okay to make mistakes because that is all apart of the process. Overall just know that you will do AMAZING and no matter what be proud of what you have accomplished. 

Overall, the Knee Team would mainly like to tell you to have fun, try not to stress out to much, communicate, research, and breathe! If there was one thing we would have liked to have known was that we shouldn’t stress out and we should breathe, which is what you should do! You may be just starting out the project now, but before you know it, the project will be over and you will be writing your final reflection!