Scholarships solved the puzzle to success

Engineering alumna says scholarships made the “best years of my life” possible

As a child, Beth Palmer, CEAS ’19, was always drawing, completing puzzles and borrowing her brother’s Legos. As a student at the University of Cincinnati, she used 3D printers, laser cutters and sewing machines in the makerspace at its 1819 Innovation Hub.

This was all part of a day’s work for Beth, during her time as a biomedical engineering student in UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science. For her senior capstone, she developed a medical device prototype to help monitor the temperature of individuals with spinal cord injuries, using 3D printers.

“My capstone was really cool; I talked to patients, I talked to doctors, physical therapists and other engineers.” Beth says hearing from them that her work was making a difference, “made the whole process so much more rewarding.”

A Cincinnatus Scholarship, along with other CEAS scholarships made possible what Beth calls “the best five years of my life.” Access to technology and innovative labs, a beautiful campus, friends, her college and sorority are some of the things that made for a remarkable experience.

“I'm so grateful for everyone who's donated money, because it made college a whole lot easier,” Beth says. “I didn’t worry so much about tuition and was able to enjoy college.”

Beth PalmerShe also explored the globe; a co-op in Germany allowed for personal growth as she spoke German, learned about a new culture and traveled around Europe.

“Because of my scholarships, going to Germany was less of a financial burden,” Beth says.

As she reflects on her time at UC, she remembers the first time she visited UC’s campus. She knew after 10 minutes it was the place for her.

“My parents always told me I could do anything I wanted to do and I did that at UC.”

Beth is now working at Epic, a healthcare software company headquartered in Verona, Wisconsin.

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