Katie Jutte

About Katie

Katie Jutte is a Senior (4th year) at Trine University, Allen School of Engineering.  Katie is graduating in May 2021 with a Bachelors in Science in Design Engineering Technology.  Katie and her teammates are working on the Guitar Pick Challenge, affectionately renamed "Hero's Guitar."

Katie and her teammates are creating a strap prosthetic that allows for our Challenger to strum the guitar with a natural motion. Due to our Challenger’s fluctuation in weight, a socket prosthetic is almost impossible.  His current prosthetic has clamping issues, so the guitar pick does not stay in place.

Why did you choose your major?

I changed from Mechanical Engineering to Design Engineering my freshman year, because I have been drawing since I could remember.  I still draw/paint, but I have always loved taking things apart and put them back together. So, I now design how things come together and operate.

Describe your experience working with QL+ so far.

The biggest challenge is not being able to meet with our challenger. We would love to meet him, take his measurements, see him play, and work with him side by side.  I love working with him though, it is very rewarding to see the look on his face when he sees our progress. Working with the entire group has been the highlight of each semester.

What is it like working with your Challenger?

Shane Heath is a delight.  We’ve met almost every Friday over zoom. Over the holiday break, I watched his Twitch stream, "smheath82".  I love interacting with him.  He has such a big heart and good soul; he deserves the best we can give him.  He’s been very active during the concept, design, and testing phase.

What would you say to other students about QL+?

This is a great organization to work with. They’ve always been there to answer our questions and give guidance. We’ve all had a lot of laughs and it’s always felt like a bunch of friends coming together. They’ve always been honest and given constructive criticism. Professional yet friendly and approachable.

What are your plans after graduation?

Luckily, I accepted a position at Nucor Building Systems in November after graduation. I am very excited to be a NBSIN Steel Detailer / BIM Modeler. I have debated on going to Graduate school, but not pursuing it at this time.

What is the proudest moment of your college career?

I would have to say Hero's Guitar. I’ve had a lot of cool projects, done some amazing things with the Society of Women Engineers, but nothing compares to this. It is so rewarding. Senior year is hard and it can be tough to stay motivated, but those Friday progress meetings make it worth going to college during a pandemic. "Senoritis" is very real, especially the second time, but my team and I are always happy to work on this project.

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

1. Something I did at college will change Shane's life for the better. I always heard the stories of “I went to class, did homework, got my degree and left,” and when I leave I know that I made a difference. I have done volunteer work and have been involved with the Society of Women Engineers my entire college career, but the scale is large. A small impact on a few is still really good, but a large impact on one makes this project special.
   
   
2. Working with a real person is hard. I love Shane as a partner, but there is a lot at stake. This isn’t for some 10% of your grade and if you do bad then oh well. Since the pandemic, we have to work completely different than what I have in the past. For projects at my CoOp, internship, or in the workforce: I was there. If I needed measurements or data, I could easily find them myself. With this challenge, it is mostly theoretical. This prosthetic needs to be diverse because we have basic measurements and evaluation criteria. We just have to make that work. It's great practice for after graduation, lots of critical thinking, but I would love to take a mold of Shane’s arm to help with measurements and testing.
   
   
3. As a DET (Design Engineering Technology Major) working with BME (Biomedical Engineering Majors), it is weird. A very good and interesting weird. I would have never collaborated with Biomedical Engineers if I had not gone to this project. We all bring something different to the table. I am the designer; I make everyone’s ideas fit the specifications. I have never felt lesser in my group, we all have a specialty. Especially when it came to biomechanics, they took an entire class on it and I did not. So it's been refreshing to learn new things and explain “my craft.” I never met my teammates previously either, so the fresh perspective and new friends are amazing.

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