AMY AND STEPHANIE : BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
Amy completed a one-week placement with Stephanie Chen ’ 11 , a biomedical engineer working with the startup Alembic LLC in California .
In previous years , Amy ’ s experience in scientific fields was primarily in academic settings . The Work Experience Program was the perfect opportunity to look beyond her textbooks to working in the industry itself .
Stephanie introduced Amy to realistic , day-to-day engineering tasks through the intensive week-long program . In writing project documentation and doing informational interviews with other members of Stephanie ’ s team , Amy learned more about various engineering careers .
“ After talking to them , I have a clearer image of what an engineer does . I was asking about post-secondary stuff because that ’ s the process I ’ m going through . Many of them suggested that I look into mechanical engineering , which surprised me !” said Amy .
Amy also enjoyed working alongside a CHS alumna . “ It was definitely a bonding moment . I would talk to Stephanie about courses at Crofton House and about my role as STEM Club co-captain this year . I ’ m hoping to apply to university in the US , so I ’ ve been asking her what the process is like .”
Providing opportunities to the next generation of women in science , technology , engineering and math ( STEM ) is a passion of Stephanie ’ s and one that she was happy to bring to CHS through the Work Experience Program . “ Since starting work , I feel like there have been fewer opportunities to support women in STEM through outreach . As I advance in my career , I look for more chances to connect with women and students at all levels and stages ,” she said .
Conversations with Amy about life at CHS today also confirmed the connection she still feels with the School . “ Seeing that some students from CHS are thinking of taking similar paths reinforces that connection , and it reinforces that Crofton House is still a community for me . Even after all these years , Amy mentioned that certain teachers remembered me as a student ! I ’ m just so grateful to the staff for supporting me in my journey ,” Stephanie said .
INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING THE WORK EXPERIENCE PROGRAM ?
We would love to hear from you , and we welcome support from parents , guardians , alumnae and the larger CHS community . For alumnae , please reach out to Lesley Campbell , Assistant Director , Alumnae Relations , at lcampbell @ croftonhouse . ca . For parents , guardians and the larger CHS community , please reach out to Satchel Purcell , Teacher , Career Education & Work Experience Facilitator , Senior School , at spurcell @ croftonhouse . ca to discuss future Work Experience Program opportunities .
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