Rena Mazur

I really enjoyed musical theater even though I can’t quite sing. I also really enjoyed the computer classes, especially the robotics unit. It definitely helped me in other classes later on too!

After Nysmith I went to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST). At TJ, I was on the soccer and basketball team, and became interested in Biomedical Engineering after taking AP Biology and getting two sports-related surgeries. I ended up at Cornell majoring in Biological Engineering and minoring in Biomedical Engineering. At Cornell I was heavily involved in intramural sports, I was a tour guide for the College of Engineering, and I was in a sorority. I also joined a project team aimed at building the first primary inclusive school in Haiti, and got to travel to Haiti twice. Additionally, I studied abroad in Seville, Spain for a semester, and it was the most incredible experience of my life. I have always loved to travel, and while abroad I was able to go to a new country almost every week. I just graduated in the end of May, and got to travel for a few weeks in Southeast Asia before starting my job.

My first internship was at K2M, a spinal medical device company in Leesburg. The following summer I worked in a research lab at Cornell that is focused on analyzing the composition of diabetic bones. The summer of my junior year, I worked at Globus Medical, which is another spinal medical device company. I am now working at Globus Medical full-time as an Associate Project Engineer in Product Development. My job entails using CAD to design interbody fusion devices for the spine.

Nysmith provided an incredible environment where I was able to become very close to every person in my grade and to all the teachers as well. This close-knit network truly is unparalleled in most school environments, and I believe that it really helped me develop and grow confidence. Its accelerated curriculum and early technology exposure also made me feel fully prepared to handle the TJ coursework.

My one piece of advice is to not get overwhelmed or too stressed out about school and your future. It’s very hard to look past a bad test grade or not stress out about SAT scores but those are all small aspects of your life and they do not represent your true intelligence or personality.

Nysmith provided an incredible environment where I was able to become very close to every person in my grade and to all the teachers as well. This close-knit network truly is unparalleled in most school environments, and I believe that it really helped me develop and grow confidence. Its accelerated curriculum and early technology exposure also made me feel fully prepared to handle the TJ coursework.