Student Profile
 Ram Rao

Biomedical Engineering '08

Ram Rao is ready to get out of Davis. A 5th year biomedical engineering student, Rao is eager to begin applying to medical school. Putting both his hard-earned degree and his minor in psychology to good use, Rao hopes to enter a field of surgery or psychiatry where he can combine his love of people and medicine.

Growing up with an interest in engineering, Rao decided on the University of California after learning about the strong new biological engineering major on the Davis campus. Almost immediately, Rao was eager to be a part of what he called a "small program" that he knew would "grow with him."

And grow he has. Rao describes the life of an engineering student as "Busy! A lot of work that really pays off." Looking at his long list of activities, Rao has followed this advice closely, taking advantage of many available opportunities.

Rao is involved in several organizations on and off-campus. He has been a member of the Engineering Joint Council (EJC), works in Professor Kent Leach’s tissue engineering laboratory, interns at the UC Davis Medical Center emergency room, helps lead the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), and is a peer advisor for both the College of Engineering and The House campus counseling center. He has also found himself surrounded by professors eager to help him succeed in smaller upper division courses and even a few graduate classes. By connecting with his teachers, Rao has found the major to be full of opportunities for its students.

Though it is his interest in medicine that drives Ram Rao to become so involved, he also uses his activities to help draw others in as well. Rao loves to interact with others, and hopes to encourage younger students to become as involved as he is with the College of Engineering. Rao believes his on-campus involvement is what has helped him thrive in a challenging major these past five years.