Matthew Ensign

He/Him
Class of 2025
Major: Bioengineering
Hometown: Towson, MD
High School: Towson High School

What inspired you to become a ClarkLEADER?
Inclusivity is extremely important to me, so I wanted to do my part to contribute to an environment that welcomes all students! I also wanted to be a familiar face to new engineering students since I did not know many people when I started college in Fall 2021 (This was partially due to COVID and partially due to living ~1 hour away) and I know that the transition to college life can be difficult.

What is one piece of advice you would like to share with new Maryland Engineering students? 
Be sure to find something outside of classes that you love doing, whether it is a club, research, volunteering, or a new hobby! Working on assignments all the time is unsustainable, so use meetings and events as structured breaks. Splitting time between multiple things may seem stressful, but joining student organizations in my second semester made college a lot more fun!

What are some organizations or extracurricular activities you are involved with on campus?  
I am a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society, Beta Psi Omega (Academic Biology Fraternity), Alpha Lambda Delta, the Vice President for Academic Affairs of National Biomedical Engineering Honor Society,  an Undergraduate Research Assistant in the Maisel lab, in the BIOE Honors Program, and the Director of Operations for The Catalyst (the Bioengineering Department's Undergraduate Research Journal).

What is a cool engineering experience you've had? 
This semester, I was given a nanotechnology project that uses cell penetrating peptides to deliver nanoparticles to target cells, which has validated my research interests and my interest in Ph.D. programs. Pursuing undergraduate research and finding a project I love has been the best decision I have made in college!