Alan R. Coe
BioEngineer at Washington State University
Welcome to my page and thank you for taking the time to browse the information. On the top right of the page you will find multiple tabs named Home (this page), Work Experience, Educational Experiences and my personal contact information along with courses taken.
Personal Objectives:
In life I think it is very easy to focus on where you want to go rather than thinking about how you get there. Through my experiences I have learned that although it is important to focus on where you want to be in the future it is also important to know where you are now and to have the ability to adjust your direction dependent on where a project can take you.
Within my career I truly value a job in which I can grow and help others grow to accomplish a joint task. I enjoy jobs that challenge me and I encourage positions in which I can wear multiple hats to accomplish a complicated problem.
Why I Chose BioEngineering
As I woke up on the morning of December 17th, 2008 in Eastsound, WA I could have never imagined that so many lives would change. As I woke up and looked outside I could see the rare occurrence of snowfall. Although it was only about 2 inches of snow, my friends and I made the choice to go snowboarding at the local golf course. After just a little bit of time we had built a small jump on the largest hill we could find and proceeding to jump off it as much as we could. All the fun quickly ended when my close friend, Jordan Griffin, decided he should try a front flip. As he went off and began to rotate it became apparent that he was not going to land it clean. As he flipped he landed on his shoulder and fractured his c5 and c7 vertebrae and caused a burst fracture in his c6 vertebrae leaving him partially quadriplegic for the rest of his foreseeable future.
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As time progressed, Jordan never lost his motivation to progress his life as much as he could in any direction he saw fit. He continues to snowboard via uni-skiing technology, downhill mountain bike via a custom bike made by a fellow colleague and play video games without the ability to grip anything because of hand paralysis.
Although his motivation and perseverance never wavered, it is easy to see that there are things that he cant do as well given that he is afflicted with this injury. By going through this experience by his side, I could see something had to be done to help people who are less fortunate. The more I looked into the situation the more I could see that not only could I help people who are afflicted by paralysis but it was my duty, as an engineer, to help any way that I could. BioEngineering is a new major which most people haven't heard of yet but it truly is the major of the future. Bioengineering has enabled me to marry many different engineering disciplines with the sciences, human anatomy and processes, mathematical theory, computer sciences and neuroscience among many other disciplines to solve complex biological issues. Choosing to pursue BioEngineering was not the safe choice in major but the safe bet would not make the lasting change I wish to see in the world. BioEngineering allowed me to be exposed to a multitude of disciplines and taught me how to incorporate many different ideas to accomplish a complex goal. For these reason I know that BioEngineering was the correct choice for me and my aspirations.
Alan Ruston Coe
My Story
My journey throughout life may be very different than most. Growing up on Orcas Island Washington allowed me to have the unique experience and freedom to explore my environment. While most will spend time at theaters I would spend my time exploring the ocean and taking in the views of the wilderness. Whether it came in the form of tree forts or walking the vast beaches, from a young age I have always been curious as to how things work and how to create from raw materials.
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As time progressed the wonderment never faded. In grade school i enrolled in competitions like "Destination Imagination" that forced me to push the boundaries of my learning. By the age of 11 years old I had already built a hovercraft that would run off of a leaf blower and a fan which could support a 200 pound individual. During my highschool career I was the captain of my football team and won all-league awards from my sophomore to senior year of playing. During this time I was sought to lead my team as their team captain.
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I then attended Western Washington University but had to leave shortly after to help support myself and my family during the peak of the recession. During this time I worked in Alaska doing commercial fishing out of Sitka, Alaska. Then I made my way back south to become a professional carpenter for Dalgarno Construction on Orcas Island. After three years of being in career I chose to go back to college to finish up my degree in BioEngineering through Washington State University to better serve those in need within the medical field.