Hi Everyone!

Me in Jeju Island!

My name is Ellena, a sophomore majoring in Bioengineering minoring in Engineering Design and Cell Biology/Biochemistry! I am from Chandler, Arizona, although I’ve moved around a bit growing up. My hobbies are painting and drawing, so at Rice, I try to merge this with my interest, medicine and advocacy. From creating monthly zines about women’s wellbeing as a part of the RWRC coordinating team to starting my own club, Medical Arts Collaborative, to engage an interdisciplinary conversation about arts and medicine, I explore the various areas to involve myself with hands-on projects and creativity!

shaver comb station

One thing that I made last year is in ENGI 120, I created a shaver comb station that helps patients with arthrogryposis. This was a rewarding experience for me because this was my first design project, and I enjoyed creating this medical device. In the future, I hope to create cost-effective devices that can be brought to underprivileged communities and increase access to medical technologies. In ENGI 210 this semester, I hope to learn more hands-on tools at the ODEK and find ways I can express my creativity and make my ideas into a reality!