Clarkston Scholars Spotlight: Claire Chao

The mission of the Clarkston Scholars program is to create equitable access and opportunities for low-income, first-generation college students with the intention of developing a future Clarkston steward. Below, we hear from Claire Chao, Clarkston’s 2022 Clarkston Scholar, on her experience and advice. 

1. What is your current career and what path did you take to get there? Please use this as an opportunity to provide an introduction to who you are and your story including details such as your college, studies, interests, and current career. 

Hi! My name is Claire Chao, and I graduated in the Class of 2024 from UNC Chapel Hill with a BS in Biomedical Engineering. Within the program, I concentrated in rehabilitation engineering and microdevices and found that I loved biomechanics and CAD (computer aided design). I interned at a startup in RTP during my junior and senior year where I got to design and build hardware that expedited processes for their manufacturing team as well as test the life cycle of components that went into their medical device. Thankfully, that position offered a lot of ownership over the projects from start to finish and it felt very rewarding to get to see something that I created helping others. Additionally, I also worked as a TA and in restaurants off campus, was active in the powerlifting community at UNC, and got my hands on some other BME clubs/projects on the side.

That’s led me into my current position where I work as a Product Development Engineer for a biotech startup that provides live instrument tracking in fluoroscopy surgeries. I am part of the hardware team where we develop components that attach onto surgical instruments, allowing them to be tracked live with our software. I’ve been at this company for about a year now and love it! The environment and team that I work with is a great fit for my work style and career interests. After reflecting on my previous work/project/extra-curricular experiences and getting feedback from my mentors at Clarkston, I know that I: like to work independently on tasks that then contribute to a team-driven project, am a social person and like to establish good relationships with my team and other teams, and want to advance my CAD skills and become a design engineer one day. I was, of course like many others, rejected from a bunch of positions before finding this job, but rejection is redirection! It can be difficult to keep your head above water when you’re in the depths of the job search, but acknowledging your true values and interests can help keep you on the best path. Through the rejections along my path, I refined my values, interests, and portfolio, which ultimately made me the most confident version of myself when I finally found the right position for me.  

My other interests in college that I’ve carried with me post-grad include weightlifting, upcycling, crafting/building, and cooking! 

2. What are your future professional goals?

In the future, I’d love to work my way into becoming a design engineer, potentially in the biomechanics/rehabilitation engineering field. I love art, designing, problem-solving, and inventing new things. Additionally, my favorite classes during my time in the BME program were biomechanics, biomechanics of movement, and bone mechanobiology. I think that I, and most others, ultimately want to work in something that doesn’t feel like work. The people that I admire and who are passionate about what they do all seem to work in a job that they can “get lost in” (aka flow state). During my time at my internship and in my current role, I find myself getting lost in my design projects where I can just keep going without even realizing how much time has passed. Becoming a “master” or professional of any job is inevitably difficult and time-consuming, so the easier it is for me to start learning or get lost in the act of practicing/perfecting what I’m doing, the better I’ll become at it.

With that being said, I also think that it’s important to reflect and break out of the harsh separation of fields and interests that many see today. Just because you love and enjoy art, does not mean that you are not fit for a role in STEM. Likewise, just because you may love math or physics, does not mean that you are not meant to try or learn about art. It is all connected — there is art in math and math in art. Utilize your unique interests and curiosities to your advantage! 

3. How did you come across the Clarkston Scholars program and what prompted you to apply? What value do you think the Clarkston Scholars program provided for you beyond the scholarship? 

I was actually sent an email from the BME department’s Industry Advisor about the Clarkston Scholars program. She sent out info about scholarships, internship/job postings, and other opportunities that were relevant to our field of study. At the time, I was prompted to apply because not only was the program looking for students who are first-generation and low-income, but it also offered mentorship and networking within the company. As someone who doesn’t have that many older industry professionals in their life, this was super important to me because I knew I would be able to get a lot more than just a monetary award from the program. I think one of the great aspects of consulting, and especially at Clarkston, is that the workforce is made up of such a diverse group of individuals who all have different backgrounds, work experience, and interests. I love and appreciate how much effort is put into the networking/mentorship side of the program because that is exactly what first-generation students need! I’ve gotten to listen to so many of Clarkston’s employee’s stories, and it was extremely insightful as someone who did not have that many mentors to go to about industry and post-grad life in general.  

4. What is some advice you’d give to other Clarkston Scholars or first-generation college students?

Of course every first-generation college student’s experience varies dramatically based on family socioeconomic background, culture, expectations, and more, so it is difficult to come up with a piece of advice that I think can apply to everyone’s situation. Specifically, one’s definition of “success” can be influenced heavily or can look very different from their culture or family definition. With all these different factors at play on top of being the first in the family to go to college, network with professionals, interview for big companies, and navigate life on this side of the world, it can feel like there’s a huge weight on your shoulders to “make it all count.” So many first-gen students have families back home that work extremely hard in order for them to be able to focus on studying and pursue a professional career, so a missed or failed opportunity can feel like a huge defeat.

Now, I cannot confidently say that these opportunities do not count because of course they do! These are chances that many of our family members will never get to come across in their lives. Something that took me a long time to realize, however, is that not every one of these opportunities are supposed to end with us getting the job offer or whatever expectation we may create in our heads. Sometimes, the experience is an opportunity to teach or show us something else – maybe an in-person interview weakness, a gap in knowledge, what we don’t want in a work environment, etc. So, I suppose my piece of advice is to take the time to reflect by yourself or with someone on these experiences, both successful and not, to understand yourself better which in turn will better prepare you for the next opportunity. I know that this can be difficult, it feels like it’s always one thing after the next during college. But, this is something I wish I invested more time into because trust me, you will see the return on that investment fast! The confidence in knowing and owning yourself and your work, whether it is a grand project or a weak skill, is something that will always shine through to others. It will make you stand out in a crowd of students who have all taken the same classes, got the same certifications, and want the same job.  

5. Is there anything you learned or were able to experience through the program that you would not have been able to otherwise?

Yes! Thankfully, the people at Clarkston Consulting are what makes this scholarship program so great and valuable. I think that one of the biggest things I lacked outside of this program was the mentorship and patience of those that were so willing to help me with anything I needed. Oftentimes, especially for first-gen students, we lack that time and patience from others to ask those random or basic questions about any and all topics of a profession or life in general. I had a unique experience my senior year when searching for jobs that put me in a tough position as someone who was seeking a job at this company. I genuinely was not sure if I had handled it appropriately or ruined my chances of getting the job and was unsure of what to do next. After chatting with my mentors about it and hearing about some of their experiences in the past, I felt much more confident and validated in where I stood. Although I knew I would move on from it eventually, the support and patience from my wonderful mentors provided the support that I hadn’t received before, and continues to guide and impact me to this day.