ASBME 2022-2023 executive board.
USC’s Associated Students of Biomedical Engineering (ASBME) has been honored with the Commendable Achievement Award from the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) for their remarkable Chapter Development Report. This award recognizes a chapter that “has unlimited opportunities for growth and success and has demonstrated the ability to lead in many different facets.”
ASBME is an undergraduate organization that offers networking opportunities to students, fosters a sense of community, and helps teach practical skills. While it is geared towards biomedical engineers, ASBME welcomes members from across USC, and often sees mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, and biology majors at their events.
Anthony Mouchawar, ASBME President and BME senior, reflected on why he felt the USC chapter won this award.
“It’s a reflection of the events that we held last year, and the really good job we did at trying to put together as many different types of events as possible for the biomedical engineering (BME) community to enjoy,” Mouchawar said.
ASBME hosts a wide variety of events each semester, ranging from teaching engineering lessons to young kids at a local magnet school, to networking nights with recruiters, and mentorship socials with upper and lower classmen.
Coming up this semester, ASBME will once again host their extremely successful Fall Networking Night. This dinner-style event will serve as an opportunity for students to talk to recruiters from 24 different companies, enabling many students to secure internships for the following summer. In addition to this full-scale networking night, ASBME also hosts smaller, more informal networking and recruiting events throughout the year. Past companies that have participated include Biosense Webster and Abbott Laboratories.
Mouchawar said that USC’s ASBME chapter has direct access to a lot of representatives from top medical device and biotech companies in Southern California, which gives members a unique advantage.
ASBME also hosts research events, inviting faculty to highlight their research with the goal of helping students secure lab placements. It is not just BME majors that attend to learn from these faculty presentations, but often pre-med and biology students as well.
This January, ASBME will once again host their annual Make-a-Thon. During this event, participants are given a challenge on a Friday and must work in teams to prototype and present a medical device by Sunday. Mouchawar said this was a highlight of ASBME’s year, and he encouraged every BME major, as well as students from other departments to take part in it.
In addition to these major events, even ASBME’s general meetings are something special. Each general meeting is a unique informational event that helps contribute to an underclassman’s knowledge and teaches useful skills that you can’t learn in the classroom.
Mouchawar said that had he not been involved with ASBME, he would have been a lot more confused as to what he should take part in and a lot less prepared for his career. He said he loved the professional aspects of ASBME and the community and friendships this organization allowed him to build.
“It was the easiest way to find a group of people, a group of friends I have known consistently over the past few years. And for me, it was extremely beneficial. I owe a lot to this organization myself, and being in this President position is now my way of giving back to the community,” Mouchawar said.
Published on October 4th, 2023
Last updated on October 4th, 2023
