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Want to join the Biomedical Engineering Society?

(Photo courtesy of UMass Lowell BME’s campus lab page) “We UML Biomedical Engineering (BME) Program and support its students through resources necessary to succeed in the discipline. Resources may include, but are not limited to peer advising, networking, community service, and research or industry opportunities. The Chapter, as part of the professional and parent Biomedical Engineering Society organization, aims to create a supportive and sustainable outlet for UML BME students.”

Nicholas Ewing
Connector Staff

Biomedical Engineering Society (BME) is a club students join to socialize, network and develop career skills to pursue biomedical engineering career opportunities. They have hosted socials for students to have fun and make new friends. Additionally, the club sponsors networking events for students to get connected with professionals in the biomedical engineering industry. BME also hosts guest speakers and events for career preparation.

Devon Hartigan, co-president of BME, said “Our club tries to provide a space where we can make opportunities for students to network and socialize with their other BME peers, and [for students] to gain some professional development.” She explained that the club helps students with professional development by preparing students for interviews, giving feedback on their resumes, writing elevator pitches, prepping for career fair and providing a space for members to network with professionals.

The club is not all work and no play. On the social side, Irene Frechette, co-president of BME, has said the club hosts fun socials for students to plays games with each other and participate in fun events. “We did a [holiday theme] cookie decorating night last semester…so we brought some sugar cookies and decorated them for all of the holidays that were around December, like Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, and [to celebrate] the end of the break.” Fun events like these helps students have forget their anxieties and take a break from the daily grind of school.

BME welcomes all students no matter their race, sexuality or gender. At this club, the two co-presidents are women surrounded by female faculty advisors who are all motivated to help their students to succeed. BME is in a “unique situation” with a 50:50 gender ratio considering the low percentage of female students in UMass Lowell’s engineering departments. Female club leadership with female faculty support provides opportunities for female STEM students.

Those opportunities come in the form of comradery and support for women. Hartigan said “The club can give female students more of a voice to talk about their concerns. They can come to a place where they feel represented, and they feel comfortable to come to us and talk about whatever they need.” Hartigan and Frechette are role models who hope to inspire other female students interested in their field with their leadership and research projects that they are doing in school.

The best perk for joining and participating in BME would be there networking events that they organize in partnership with the Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2) here in downtown Lowell. Frechette said “[M2D2] are affiliated with a medical device company incubator for startups, so they have probably between 20 to 40 companies that rent out office space there. [BME] coordinated with M2D2 and invited all the resident companies and all the BME students to their location in downtown Lowell. Over lunch, [BME] had the companies give a little one-minute-long summary about what they work on and if they were looking for interns, full time positions or things like that.”

This annual networking event had always had a great turn out for both companies and students. Students and companies find it a great opportunity to meet and learn from each other as companies seek to hire UMass Lowell students and graduates.

BME has upcoming events that you can join and participate in. There next event will be a resume workshop on March 16th. At the end of the month, BME will host a tie dye social event on March 30th. To celebrate the end of the semester, BME will have an “End Of Year & E(5k)G Celebration” on April 13th.

All students are welcomed to join, even if you are a non-STEM major. Students interested in joining can contact the club at UMass Lowell Engage or send them an email at umasslowellbmes@gmail.com.

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