Karina Nakayama

Major: Bioengineering
Class of 2006
Career Goal: Patent Attorney

Why did you choose UCSD?
From high school, I knew that I was going to go into bioengineering and that UCSD was one of the best in the country. I also really liked the fact that UCSD offers so many research opportunities and research courses, and that the professors are very open to have undergraduates work in their labs.

I've been coming to San Diego all my life to visit family and I really like the area. When I visited campus, UCSD felt like a place that was welcoming and friendly to students, and a place where I could make my home while I was here.

What makes UCSD so special?
The faculty are extremely easy to talk to, friendly, and just really enthusiastic. One of the things that made me passionate about what I'm doing is seeing their passion. They love what they are doing, and that's just a really inspiring thing.

I value that fact that the Jacobs School does not segregate the different engineering majors, but encourages them to work together. We saw that just recently with our big school-wide junkyard boxcar derby where teams from all different majors work together to build and race these crazy carts. Because I’m looking into going to law school for patent law, it’s a good idea for me to have a basic understanding of the different engineering disciplines. UCSD allows me to get that broader vision.

More about Karina
From the time she participated in a summer research program with UC, Karina knew she wanted to get involved in research in college. She worked in the lab of bioengineering professor Jeff Hasty where they study the genetic circuits that control cell function. One of the things she likes most about the lab experience is the camaraderie among her faculty advisor, graduate students, and her fellow undergraduates.

Karina has also been active in the engineering student organizations including the Biomedical Engineering Society and the Triton Engineering Student Council. She helped organize DeCAF, the annual student-run career fair, as well as the Triton Junkyard Derby, a three day event where student teams have two days to build race carts out of junk and then finally face off in a series of races.