As an engineering student ambassador, Camille Milo has brought her passion for helping others to the Walter Scott Jr., College of Engineering community for the last three years. But chance played an intriguing role in her journey from high school to Colorado State University graduate.

When she was visiting schools as a senior, she fell in love with CSU’s five-year dual-degree engineering program and the warm welcome she received on tour. Her other choice was in St. Louis, Missouri, where she would be closer to family.

She hoped for a sign to help her decide. As she was walking through downtown St. Louis, “I looked at one of the shops,” Milo said, “and the sign read, ‘St. Louis Rams.’”

The sense of community – and the right program – won out. Milo is now graduating from CSU with degrees in both biomedical engineering and chemical and biological engineering.

Milo knew she wanted to be a biomedical engineer since her junior year in high school. She became intrigued with the way balloon pumps help people during an internship with the biomedical department of a hospital in Anaheim, California. The device sends a tiny balloon attached to a catheter through a patient’s vein toward the heart to help pump blood.

“Something like a tiny balloon, that you might use every single day, can help the most important organ in your body,” she said. “I just wanted to be part of building those things and being able to help patients.”

Chance again played a part at the end of her second year at CSU, during a shift at CAM’s Lobby Shop in the Lory Student Center. Striking up a conversation with customer Rachael Johnson, the college’s manager of strategic recruitment, Milo learned about becoming a student ambassador.

“Up until that morning I wasn’t thinking about taking the shift because I was a sophomore and it was dead week, and I needed the time to study,” Milo said. “But I thought, you know, I’m just going to take it anyway.”

She became a student ambassador the next semester, giving tours to prospective students, taking on social media duties, and participating in many of the college’s recruitment videos.

“She has the biggest heart, she excels in her work as an ambassador and an engineer,” said Johnson. “She’s authentic and has so much integrity.”

Milo came into college expecting to work on medical devices when she graduated. Now that graduation is here, her time as an ambassador has shifted her focus.

As a part of her senior design team, Milo worked with other students to build a wireless smart junctional tourniquet. The attachment could provide hospital clinicians with blood pressure data before patient arrival so that clinical decisions can be made quickly and be backed by real-time data.

“Especially in my last two years, I’ve really grown into my role as an ambassador and a leader,” she said. “I really like seeing the growth of people from the starting stage to the final product.”