Student Spotlight Lauren Kargas

Originally, I was actually planning on going into biology and chemistry. However, a good friend of mine right before my freshman year started spoke about how useful an engineering degree would be, so I switched over to try it out. After my first semester was over, I knew that I could see myself making a career out of engineering, and at this point, I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. My sophomore year, I decided to major in Biosystems Engineering via the advice of a wonderful upperclassman in BAE, and I cannot stop emphasizing how important the connections and opportunities I have received through this department have been to me.

A proper education is very important to me, and the opportunity to get that is something I will always be grateful for. The knowledge and memories I take from my time here at UK are going to be fondly looked back on for many years to come. I have been placing a lot of emphasis on being involved during my college career. The people I have gotten to know and the opportunities I have received have made my experience so much more fulfilling. Being a Peer Mentor means that I’m able to take the knowledge I gather and pass it onto underclassmen, which is something that I especially cherish being able to do.

The versatile education of the BAE program here at UK has left me feeling confident about my career as an engineer. I’m taking all the fundamental engineering classes, from circuits to engineering design to thermodynamics. By the time I graduate, I know that I will be well outfitted to go into a varying number of engineering fields that are not limited to the area I focused in during my undergraduate years. In addition to that, I have gained very valuable research and co-op experience through my time here at UK. The assistance of the Career and Co-Op office allowed me to intern with a wonderful company in Louisville called RNDR Medical, and in turn I learned so much about the biomedical design process. I also do sediment transport research currently in the BAE department and have gained valuable laboratory skills and experience. Overall, I am confident that I will be a skilled engineer after I get my degree.

I’ve been working at the Innovation Center for almost three years now, and the knowledge I’ve gained, as well as the culture I have become a part of, have been a very centric part of my college experience. When I arrived at UK, I had never used any of the tools that students learn in the IC (3d printing, laser cutting, Tormach, soldering, thermoforming, etc.!). It was honestly really intimidating, but the student staff working there were so welcoming that I ended up feeling quickly comfortable and even applied to work there myself. Now I can operate and troubleshoot almost every machine in the lab, which I’m very proud to say! Doug Klein is a fantastic boss, and I enjoy working there so much that it doesn’t really feel like a job. If I could participate beyond being an undergraduate student, I would – over the years, it has become like a second space for me as a CoE student.

In 15 years, I hope to be finished with my doctorate in bioengineering and working on research in the bioenvironmental sector. I’m not quite sure what kind of research I would want to do long term yet, but I’m working on a pretty interesting sediment transport project right now! I want to have at least two dogs and a well-decorated house with plenty of plants, and to have visited at least half of the national parks. My goal for my lifetime as an engineer is to make as positive of an impact as I can, on as many people as I can. I love interacting with others as a mentor in my jobs currently and would love to be in some sort of teaching position at the university level one day. I am confident that my background in BAE here at UK will set me up for success in my future endeavors and am looking forward to what I’ll get to do next.