Brianna Williams
From 7th grade, Brianna Williams knew what she wanted to do with her life. Brianna is majoring in Biomedical Engineering with a lifelong goal of helping others.
“Ideally, I want to do prosthetics as a civilian for the military side like a VA hospital or something like that. My ultimate goal is to work with veterans and try to expedite the process of them being able to get their prosthetic leg or arm back. " Brianna's grandfather has friends who are amputees. She has heard their stories regarding how long it took for them to get a prosthetic through a VA hospital. They did not have any other choice but to wait due to the inability to afford getting a prosthetic a different way. "It broke my heart a little bit that like, some of them were caught in war, and they unfortunately got hurt, and now they have to wait years for a leg. That's horrible in my mind.” Another reason why Brianna was interested in working in the medical field is because of her father. “My dad has been through many medical complications in my life. At the age of 30, he had his first heart attack and that's very young for a heart attack. He now has many stents in him holding like arteries open and things like that." |
Since then, her father has had a triple bypass surgery, a shoulder surgery, and suffers from a crushed leg.
"Because of all these medical devices, I've been able to keep him around with me. My stepdad right now is also battling cancer, so every moment, I have with him left is incredible, and I'm thankful for the doctors. I ultimately want to help somebody else, so they don't have to go through what I'm going through”
Being a first-generation college student felt like being in uncharted territory for Brianna however, she had the support she needed from her friends and family.
“My family was very supportive. When I told them that I’m going for engineering, they thought it was insane and asked if I was sure I was up for it. I told them I got this and I’m going to do it. They had doubts at first but now that I am in my second semester, they’re like okay you got it, and now they’re my backbone.”
Though Brianna is very passionate about following her dreams, she did have some doubts on whether she could do it. She struggled with some of her classes last semester and it made her question if this was the right path for her.
"I almost gave up on it. I almost gave up on myself and I thought to myself, doctors didn't give up on my family. I shouldn't give up on this. This has been my goal since seventh grade. Doctors didn't give up on my family- I shouldn't give up on myself.”
If anyone can do it, Brianna can!
"Because of all these medical devices, I've been able to keep him around with me. My stepdad right now is also battling cancer, so every moment, I have with him left is incredible, and I'm thankful for the doctors. I ultimately want to help somebody else, so they don't have to go through what I'm going through”
Being a first-generation college student felt like being in uncharted territory for Brianna however, she had the support she needed from her friends and family.
“My family was very supportive. When I told them that I’m going for engineering, they thought it was insane and asked if I was sure I was up for it. I told them I got this and I’m going to do it. They had doubts at first but now that I am in my second semester, they’re like okay you got it, and now they’re my backbone.”
Though Brianna is very passionate about following her dreams, she did have some doubts on whether she could do it. She struggled with some of her classes last semester and it made her question if this was the right path for her.
"I almost gave up on it. I almost gave up on myself and I thought to myself, doctors didn't give up on my family. I shouldn't give up on this. This has been my goal since seventh grade. Doctors didn't give up on my family- I shouldn't give up on myself.”
If anyone can do it, Brianna can!