2022 Award Recipient – Katya Zaraska

Katya Zaraska

Biomedical Engineering ’24

With positive experiences throughout her co-op career thus far, her dedication to progressing the engineering profession, and her contributions to the biomedical industry, we are excited to announce that Katya (Kat) Zaraska is our UBC Applied Science Co-op Student of the Year 2022 Award Recipient.

 

Kat is an undergraduate student in the Biomedical Engineering program in her fifth-year at UBC, specializing in Biomechanics and Biomaterials.  Kat has completed 20 consecutive months of co-op work experience, working in biomedical device development and clinical engineering.  Most recently, Kat finished a co-op work term with Vancouver General Hospital/UBC Department of Surgery in the Prisman Lab where she was working on a surgical tool design/development for use in head and neck surgeries.  She is currently working on publishing research studies related to patient-specific surgical planning and biomechanics related to mandibular reconstructions.  Kat is passionate about applications of engineering in medicine and her career goals revolve around improving patient care and surgical outcomes. Kat is also entering her 4th season as an athlete on the UBC competitive cheerleading team. When she isn’t at the lab or at cheer practice, Kat is probably skiing or coaching gymnastics.

Read about how Kat has engaged positively with Co-operative Education and how her experiences have enhanced her professional, educational, and personal areas of life!

“In my second year of engineering, I realized how vast and daunting the biomedical industry can seem as a new graduate with minimal to no work experience. Having only been exposed to some introductory concepts, I felt I couldn’t possibly learn enough to make an informed career decision by the time I graduated. 

On top of this, when Covid swept across Canada and virtual learning shut down labs and hands-on learning, I knew I would be missing out on many of the practical skills I’d need as an engineer. For these reasons, I was drawn to the idea of the co-op program, knowing that I would gain valuable industry knowledge, learn how to physically design/build things and engage with practicing engineers with huge amounts of experience to share. Additionally, knowing my naturally indecisive nature and anxiety surrounding my future, I knew I had to take control and learn more about my career options.

During my co-op education thus far, I have had the opportunity to work in two very different sectors of the biomedical engineering industry. Having the opportunity to explore various avenues and apply different technical skills has yielded positive impacts on clarifying my career directions for post-graduation.

The diversity of skills that I acquired range from foundations in engineering physics, biomedical imaging, mechanics, machining and CAD. My first placement gave me a new depth of knowledge in mechanical design and hand-on testing, however it also taught me that medical device development is a lengthy and rigorous process. In contrast, my second placement was clinical and I was given more freedom to explore areas I was interested in. Coordinating research studies interfaced engineering and medicine in ways I didn’t think possible before. 

My biggest takeaway from this role was the realization that working alongside doctors to help with patient care is what I want to continue doing throughout my career. On 2022, I had the opportunity to present a co-op related research project at an undergraduate student conference. Students of varying experiences approached me to learn more about my work. I was able to demonstrate to my peers that research engineering is a diverse and rewarding field where amazing innovation in medicine can occur. I emphasized that I wouldn’t have been involved in my research placement if it weren’t for the co-op job board. 

I had never realized that research and clinical engineering was where I felt most empowered until I took on a co-op research role, and this conference gave me the perfect platform to share this tip with younger undergraduate students. Following the conference, I even had a first-year student reach out, saying they were so inspired by my work that they decided to transfer from science into biomedical engineering and were hoping to also pursue co-op research.

In summary, I am extremely grateful to the co-op program for providing me with an outlet for my creativity, allowing me to foster my interests in hands-on work and helping me realize that I hope to use my engineering knowledge for improving patient care in a clinical setting.”

Katya Zaraska
UBC Undergraduate Biomedical Engineering Student

UBC Vancouver is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm people (Musqueam; which means 'People of the River Grass'). UBC Okanagan is situated on traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan Nation. The land has always been a place of learning for the Musqueam and Syilx peoples, who for millennia have passed on their culture, history, and traditions from one generation to the next.
UBC Crest The official logo of the University of British Columbia. Arrow An arrow indicating direction. Arrow in Circle An arrow indicating direction. Caret An arrowhead indicating direction. E-commerce Cart A shopping cart. Time A clock. Chats Two speech clouds. Facebook The logo for the Facebook social media service. Social Media The globe is the default icon for a social media platform. TikTok The logo for the TikTok social media platform. Calendar Location Home A house in silhouette. Information The letter 'i' in a circle. Instagram The logo for the Instagram social media service. Linkedin The logo for the LinkedIn social media service. Location Pin A map location pin. Mail An envelope. Telephone An antique telephone. Play A media play button. Search A magnifying glass. Arrow indicating share action A directional arrow. Speech Bubble A speech bubble. Star An outline of a star. Twitter The logo for the Twitter social media service. Urgent Message An exclamation mark in a speech bubble. User A silhouette of a person. Vimeo The logo for the Vimeo video sharing service. Youtube The logo for the YouTube video sharing service. Future of work A logo for the Future of Work category. Inclusive leadership A logo for the Inclusive leadership category. Planetary health A logo for the Planetary health category. Solutions for people A logo for the Solutions for people category. Thriving cities A logo for the Thriving cities category. University for future A logo for the University for future category.