We all know engineering is a hard major, but junior Jen Piserchia makes it look like a walk in the park. From physics classes to biomechanics, Piserchia takes each challenging class with a smile, knowing it will help advance her education and make her a much better engineer in the future.
Piserchia is a biomedical engineering major with a minor in psychology. Aside from being an active member of Her Campus, Piserchia is the future president of Society of Women Engineers, or SWE. The club’s main goal is “to encourage women to achieve full potential as engineers; expand the image of the engineering profession as a positive force in improving quality of life; demonstrate the value of diversity,” according to its Lionsgate page.
Although she doesn’t start until the fall, Piserchia has big ideas for the club and is ready to take on the responsibility. “SWE works on empowering women and inspiring younger girls to pursue a degree in a male-dominated field,” Piserchia said. “I’m so excited to organize and send us to SWE conference!”
But, Piserchia didn’t always want to be an engineer. She came into TCNJ as a Biology major, but quickly realized that biomedical engineering was what she really wanted to do. After working hard and taking summer and winter classes to catch up on classes, Piserchia is ready to make an impact in the engineering field.
“There are so many great parts about engineering,” Piserchia said. “My favorite is the way it makes you think and see things in the world differently.”
When asked the intimidating question ‘What do you want to do after you graduate,’ Piserchia doesn’t hesitate to answer. “I hope to work in the industry, particularly for a medical device company,” she said. “I’m actually doing an internship this summer doing exactly that which I couldn’t be happier about.”
All of her hard work paid off as she was given the opportunity to intern with Stryker Corporation this summer. Stryker is a company that offers “innovative products and services in Orthopaedics, Medical and Surgical, and Neurotechnology and Spine that help improve patient and hospital outcomes,” according to the company’s website.
Piserchia hopes that through her future time as president of SWE and even through her accomplishments post-TCNJ she can inspire younger women to pursue a degree in engineering. Her advice? “Enjoy it! Don’t stress about the little things, it all comes together in the end and everything happens for a reason.”