Blake Boring

About Blake

Blake Boring is a Senior at Trine University, scheduled to graduate in May 2021.  Black is a Biomedical Engineering Major with a concentration in Health Sciences.  Blake and his teammates are working on the Adaptive Guitar Pick Challenge.

The team renamed the project to "Hero’s Guitar" due to the fact that the prosthetic being made for a U.S. Army veteran, who is a hero to all of us.  The team has been asked to make a prosthetic for their Challenger that will replace his old one, which fails to hold his guitar pick during his set.

While the major specification for the new prosthetic is a better pick clamping mechanism, the team has also designed the prosthetic to be extendible so our Challenger may play from a more comfortable position as well as make the components replaceable.

Why did you choose your major?

I chose my major because I wanted to be able to impact the lives of others in a positive way that would improve their health.  I wanted to be able to help develop drugs that could combat illness and disease or do genetic research.  Biomedical Engineering is a major that would open all the doors I desired and I have not regretted making the decision.

Describe your experience working with QL+.

My experience with QL+ has been a very smooth process since the beginning of the project in August of 2020. The members of QL+ are always there when we need their assistance and go out of their way to make sure the team has everything it needs to move the project forward.  The biggest challenge has been getting the project through the budgeting stage, but through the help of QL+ and the diligence of the team, this challenge was resolved.  The most rewarding part of the project for me was being able to work on this project and have the chance to impact our challenger’s life and the relationship that my group and I have formed with him.

What was it like working with your Challenger? Did you learn anything from this experience?

Working with our challenger has been a positive experience for the entire group.  We have weekly meetings with him to discuss the progress of the project as well as new specification he may have for us, and the group looks forward to it every week.  The group has been able to forge a relationship with our challenger via his twitch stream where we listen to him play guitar every week.  The biggest thing that we learned from this experience is that the communication between the project group and the customer will make the outcome of the project easier to achieve and provide the customer with a desirable product.

What would you say to other students about QL+?

To other students, I would say it is an honor and a privilege to be able to work with QL+ and the veteran customer that they pair you with.  I would also say that the projects with QL+ are an excellent opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life.

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What are your plans after graduation?

After graduation, I am planning on going to medical school with a gap year to get a job to pay for the schooling.

What has been the proudest moment of your college career?

The proudest moment of my career has been taking this project on and working with QL+ to create a new prosthetic for a veteran in need.

List three ways you have changed as a person, student, and future engineer since working on this project.

Working on this project has really shown me the impact I can have on someone’s life as a Biomedical Engineer and now I have a better understanding of the impact I can have on the industry and its customers.  I have become more passionate about being a Biomedical engineer since taking on this project and it serves as my inspiration in the field if I chose to stay in the field.  Lastly, this project has shown me what it is like to be an effective leader of an engineering group to produce a viable product for a customer.