Madeline Pollock

Background

About Madeline Pollock

Currently, as a senior at Wake Forest, I am a determined problem solver who works hard to learn new skills. My interests include mechanical engineering, dance, and crafting. My strengths include excellent 3D skills, creativity, leadership, determination, and a love for learning. I have basic electricity skills (including soldering), project design skills to solve problems, basic CNC work, and epoxy work. I also studied coding with Lego EV3, NXT robotics, MatLab, and Adruino as well as have experience using CAD, Fusion360, Multisim, and SolidWorks. When I am not designing furniture out of cardboard or meeting for the Engineering Student Advisory Council, I am planning an all-girls STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) camp for underserved girls in the Winston-Salem community called STEAM-4-Girls. This has resulted in a collaboration with Wake Downtown and the Ken Carlson Salvation Army. I have applied and won two grants from the Youth Grantmakers in Action of the Winston-Salem Foundation. Since the first camp was held during the summer of COVID-19, I learned how to direct, film, and produce the camp using iMovie while also creating and packaging individual experiments for each of the girls. These experiments ranged from the middle schoolers making their own hex bugs, light-up Harry Potter wands, and toothbrush robots. During the time of the camp, while the girls watched the videos and performed the experiments my partners and I would advise over Zoom. Thankfully, the camp was able to be in person the following year (2021). Great STEM interest was raised in both years. Currently, I am continuing STEAM-4-Girls with Latino Community Services during the school year. In the future, I want to be a biomechanical engineer and a leader. My desire to problem solve and need to understand the whys behind mechanics remain unchanged. I have a great interest in designing the next generation of hip and knee replacement prostheses that will not need frequent revision and are available financially to all. My desire to make people walk better and relieve their pain drives the focus of my interest in biomechanics. I also want to work creatively and collaboratively as part of a team to solve problems together. I want to see real-life applications for my work, while I use my skills in math and science to improve lives. Right after graduation, I plan to be in graduate school for biomechanical engineering in a well-respected mechanical engineering school. Simultaneously, I will be working towards my professional engineering license.