“It was an amazing experience seeing the beautiful school campus and all the curiosity that went with it; this set my initial path to attend FSU.”
Fast Facts
- Freshman Dorm: Gilchrist
- Engineering Involvement: First-ever cohort for the Engineering Ambassador Network chapter
- Favorite Hobby: Cooking
- Athletic: Plays basketball and rock climbs
- Future Specialty: Wants to explore orthopedic surgery and cardiology
Matthew Valdes is a biomedical engineering student who works as a surgical support technician at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital (TMH). After volunteering for a year at TMH with the post-op care unit and internal medicine unit, he became inspired to seek his current part-time role.
Valdes is involved with many biomedical engineering clubs and societies. He is a member of the Generational Relief in Prosthetics club (GRiPs), through which he participated in Hand Camp, a nonprofit event where kids with upper limb differences can experience camp life with adaptive solutions for routine and recreational activities. There, he helped design a customized 3D-printed controller for a child who wanted to play video games on the Nintendo Switch.
As an engineering ambassador for FSU, Valdes goes to K-12 classrooms and community events to encourage the next generation to pursue STEM careers.
Valdes balances these academic opportunities with his volunteer work at Big Bend Cares Inc., where he serves as a front-desk receptionist and prepares monthly food bags for community members with HIV.
Why did you choose Florida State University?
I visited FSU’s campus when I was in middle school because I had siblings that went here. It was an amazing experience seeing the beautiful school campus and all the curiosity that went with it; this set my initial path to attend FSU. I became very motivated to succeed in high school to have the privilege to be a part of FSU. What ultimately finalized my choice was that the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering had an amazing student-faculty ratio and included a biomedical engineering program.
What academic achievements have you accomplished at FSU?
I have been on the FSU and/or College of Engineering Dean’s list every semester since I began here at FSU. As an engineering ambassador, I have had the amazing opportunity to go to K-12 classrooms and community events. I show students how awesome STEM can be, and I encourage those who think they cannot do it to pursue it and motivate their curiosity.
How do you serve the FSU community?
In school, being a part of the GRiPs club has allowed me to partake in unforgettable experiences. We designed 3D-printed custom toys for children with certain hand deformities, for a child who didn’t have all his fingers on one hand and struggled to use the Nintendo Switch remotes. My team and I had the opportunity to give it to him in person at a special weekend event last spring called Hand Camp. It was so amazing to see all the children our club designed customized toys for and watch their faces light up instantly.
Outside of school, I volunteered at TMH for a year on two different floors of the hospital (post-op care unit and internal medicine). I assisted the staff by answering patient calls from their rooms, giving out water to patients, cleaning and restocking the rooms, and checking in on patients and attending to their non-medical needs. This work led me to get a part-time job as a surgical support technician. My work here helping staff members allows for better patient care in the local Tallahassee community.