Class of 2025 BME Graduate Emilia Bletsas. Image/Emilia Bletsas.
Wellesley, Massachusetts native Emilia Bletsas came to USC with a passion for politics. But her drive to make a tangible difference in the world soon led her to USC Viterbi. Now, graduating with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, Emilia leaves behind a strong legacy in improving student access to healthcare products via her role as a Speaker of the Senate. Her senior design project examined how to reduce discomfort for patients undergoing mammograms, further speaking to her track record as a tireless advocate for women’s health, an experience she will take with her into her graduate role at Boston Scientific.
As she begins her next chapter, Bletsas looks back on her time at USC Viterbi.
Name: Emilia Bletsas
Hometown: Wellesley, Massachusetts
Degree: B.S. Biomedical Engineering
What first inspired you to study engineering?
My Dad! My dad is an electrical/computer engineer by training, and he and my mom always pushed me to home in on my love for math and science as a kid. However, I did not always want to be an engineer — quite the opposite. I entered USC as a Philosophy, Politics, and Law (PPL) Major because I felt passionately about politics and advocacy, specifically in reproductive justice. After registering for my first semester of class, I felt like maybe this wasn’t where I belonged, and I started to think about where I could gain skills to advocate for women’s health issues. I first switched to health and human sciences at Dornsife, thinking I could be pre-med and go to med school to be an OB/GYN. But then, I worried that med school was not a set plan. I wanted to switch to a major that fulfilled all the pre-med requirements, but I had other options upon graduation. I was inspired by my brilliant freshman year mechanical engineering roommate (Ava Landen) and encouraged by my mom and dad to make the switch into Viterbi as a biomedical engineering major.
All my friends at home were a little shocked when I came home after freshman year and told them I was now in the engineering school, and honestly, so was I. There were times when I didn’t know if I belonged and even considered switching into the health policy major in price after taking an intro-level course with Professor Glenn Melnick. But I stayed, and with the consistent encouragement and support of my amazing advisor Chris Noll, I was able to nourish my passions for politics and reproductive advocacy outside the classroom, while learning technical skills in the classroom so I can hopefully engineer innovative women’s health solutions and technologies. I am extremely thankful for my Viterbi education and could not be more proud to graduate with my degree in Biomedical Engineering!
What is something you’ve achieved while at USC Viterbi that you’re most passionate about?
While studying abroad in London during my junior spring (which was only possible with the help and support of my amazing advisor Chris Noll), I fell in love with running. I spent most days exploring their many parks and going to run clubs, and Regents Park and Tracksmith Run Club ended up being my favorites. Since my first half marathon in London, I have raced three half marathons and two full marathons, the Long Beach Marathon and most recently the LA Marathon in March! It was an amazing way to see the city I’ve called home for the past four years, although I have my goals set to run my own home marathon, Boston.
Tell us about the research you have been working on, or a project you took part in during your studies that made an impact on you.
While at USC, I was a part of the Undergraduate Student Government Senate as Speaker of the Senate. In this role, I was able to pursue several legislative projects. The project I am most proud of is the 5-dollar emergency contraceptive that is now available in the wellness vending machine in the USC village. In my tenure as speaker, I pioneered a partnership between USC pharmacy and the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) to subsidize the cost of the emergency contraceptives within the vending machine to make them more affordable for students ($5 vs $35-$50 dollars in Target and CVS). The first bill, which I authored, to allocate legislative funding for this project, was passed my sophomore spring (2023) and this project is still ongoing, even though there have been two new senate classes. This is a testament to my legacy.
I also thoroughly enjoyed my senior design project (BME 405) that centered on how to make mammograms less painful by decreasing the current breast compression standard. I was inspired to do this project after taking BME 426 – Basics of Biomedical Imaging: Ionizing Radiation, with the amazing Professor Christina Zavaleta. And yes, our findings were that in the case of 3D mammography we do not need to squash our breast as much as the standard of care suggests.
Are there any extracurricular activities or organizations you have been part of during your studies?
So many, and I loved them all! In the classroom: I was a CP (course producer) for EE 202: Linear Circuits. I was a grader for Math 245. I loved the content and the professors in both these classes (Professor Susan Schober and Professor Ramtin Sheikhhassani) and was happy to stay close to them.
Outside of the classroom, I have been in involved in my beloved club WYSE (Women and Youth Supporting Each Other), since freshmen year. We are a mentorship-based club that pairs USC women with middle school girls. Every Wednesday, we lead an hour-and-a-half afterschool session on many topics. My favorite topics include birth control, healthy relationships, and boundary setting. I was involved in our leadership team as School Site Director at Camino Nuevo Charter School, Burlington Campus. In this role, I formed connections with the amazing leadership within the school to lead middle school recruitment and to facilitate all the operations behind holding WYSE every week at this specific school campus. There are mentees who I have known in the 6th-8th grade, and having to tell them that they weren’t the only ones graduating this year (meaning I was not coming back), was heart breaking. Words cannot describe how much this organization means to me. Not only do I love what we do, but I have met some of my very best friends in the organization. It was the highlight of my week, every single week.
I interned at Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project Los Angeles County in their Public Affairs department my junior fall and have stayed on as an avid volunteer ever since. I do everything from flying to Sacramento to lead lobby groups (most recently this April), to running the PP table at concerts in LA (my favorites were Maggie Rogers & Gracie Abrams), to door knocking and phone banking during elections. My boss at PPAC was a Bruin (Jamie Kennerk), but I look past that to say she is a phenomenal mentor and friend. I am also a member of Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority.
What are your plans after graduation?
After a great summer interning, I will be joining Boston Scientific full-time on their Women’s Health Team as a Regulatory Specialist. Here, I will join my passion for women’s health innovation with government and policy.
Based on what you know now, what is your best piece of advice for other students?
You have to establish for yourself what your goals are for your USC Viterbi Experience. In my opinion, the people you meet in your classes, whether its your peers, professors, TAs, or advisors (the BME advisor is especially phenomenal) are just as important, if not more, than the content and final grade of your classes. Those are the people who will truly help and champion you throughout your time at Viterbi and beyond. Always be kind and generous and the energy will come right back your way.
What’s an area where you feel like you’ve really grown between your first semester of college and today? What have you learned along the way?
I had incredible impostor syndrome when I first transferred into BME. I felt like I didn’t belong, and I got in my head about transferring into the major and told myself it was too late to make any BME friends, because I thought everyone had already met each other by spring freshman year, which is absurd to think about now. What I have learned is that there is no right way to be an engineer. An “engineer” does not look a certain way, have certain hobbies, or carry themselves in a specific manner. By the time you get to senior year you realize that no one has it figured out and if I had spent less time being intimidated by the people who I thought did, maybe I would have made my amazing BME friends sooner.
Published on May 14th, 2025
Last updated on May 14th, 2025
