Since my sophomore year, I’ve been fortunate enough to attend the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Annual Meeting. Last year it was in Baltimore, Maryland, but this year it was in my hometown of San Diego!
Look at that! Nothing (in my mind) will ever beat a San Diego sunset! Anyways, what’s the BMES Annual Meeting? Well, it’s a conference that gives students and professionals in academia and industry (specifically biomedical engineering) a chance to showcase their current research, network with peers and other universities, and overall, get together and have fun!
One of the highlights of my BMES experiences thus far is presenting my research. Last year’s BMES conference marked my first ever research presentation where I presented a poster to interested students and faculty who walked by. This year, I got upgraded to an undergraduate flash talk where I presented a longer power point presentation about my research.
This BMES conference was also special because my organization, the Associated Students of Biomedical Engineering, won an award from the Biomedical Engineering Society! We were so honored to receive the Outstanding Outreach Program Award this year and it was nice seeing the fruits of our work with K-12 students in the Downtown Los Angeles area.
Another highlight of my BMES experience was catching up with and meeting new people! During some of the nights of the conference, participating universities can host booths filled with games, photo booths, and other fun activities to show appreciation for all of the Biomedical Engineering Society students and members. I was able to catch up with my friends from different schools during my summer internship and network with other undergraduate students, graduate researchers, and faculty members during this event as well!
Speaking of networking, the BMES annual meeting has an expo of graduate programs and employers during all days of the conference. As someone who’s eyeing graduate school, I appreciated having this opportunity to learn more about each institution’s curriculum, faculty, and research opportunities.
Lastly, what made this BMES conference experience so much more special was having it in my hometown. After the conference, I was able to spend time at home with my family and get much needed respite in the comfort of my childhood home. San Diego will always have a special place in my heart and I was so glad that I was able to experience my favorite conference in my favorite city.
Although the BMES Annual Meeting was just a few months ago, I’m super excited for next year’s conference in Orlando, Florida. Who knows, maybe I’ll even take a spontaneous trip to Disney World too!
