Milestone: Schock, first P.E.O. Chapter HM (Sequim) scholarship recipient, earns master’s degree

July 25, 2018 1:30 am
Sequim High grad Samantha Schock (Class of 2013) recently earned a master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. Submitted photo
Sequim High grad Samantha Schock (Class of 2013) recently earned a master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. Submitted photo

P.E.O. Chapter HM announced last week the graduation of Samantha Schock, the organization’s first scholarship recipient of the chapter’s education foundation.

Schock graduated cum laude from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo on June 17 with a master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering after receiving her Bachelor of Science in the same degree in June 2017.

After defense of her master’s thesis, “Building a sterilizable, microfluidic PDMS device capable of modeling human micro physiological conditions,” Schock will be working as an Associate Clinical Account Specialist for Biosense Webster (a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson) in Irvine, Calif.

Her job includes providing professional clinical support to health care providers regarding the BWI CARTO 3-D electro-anatomical mapping system, primarily working in the operating room alongside electrophysiology physicians performing advanced cardiac ablation procedures.

Schock became interested in the cardiac side of biomedical engineering while working in the emergency room at Marian Hospital part-time as a scribe for ER doctors the last two years.

“That work helped inspire my senior project which entailed building a sensory device to detect myocardial infarctions based off the patient’s EKG,” Schock said. “The goal of the project was to detect these before major damage occurs.”

Schock is a 2013 Sequim High School graduate.

“It’s been a fantastic five years at Cal Poly although it was an adjustment coming from Sequim when I first started,” she said. “I was a bit overwhelmed and struggled a little my first year. However, I knew what my final goal was, so I just kept going until I finally hit my stride. I’ve been so blessed to have so many people from Sequim support me and believe in me by means of giving me scholarships. I didn’t want to let them down, or my family or myself.

“I remember when I was initially turned down for the International P.E.O. scholarship the wonderful ladies at P.E.O. got together and created one for me. That kind of effort stays with you forever, and it really makes you want to succeed to make them proud. I feel like I had a whole lot of the Sequim community, including many other organizations, in my corner as I went through college.

“When I graduated, I wanted to reach out, let them know what my future plans were and thank them for believing in me. What they all did for me made a big difference.”