Celebrating #GT21 Graduate Stories: Brady Bove

May 4, 2021

Before beginning her undergraduate degree on campus — majoring in biomedical engineering with a minor in leadership studies and a certificate in cognitive psychology — Brady Bove was unsure what her time at Georgia Tech would be like. Growing up in Franklin, Tennessee, Bove says she didn’t even consider applying to the Institute until her mother encouraged her. From there, she joined a campus tour and was quickly drawn to the collaborative and innovative atmosphere — and decided to attend. 

Since then she has earned a major, minor, and certificate across the College of Engineering, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, and College of Sciences, respectively. She also just completed her senior BME Capstone project on an all-female team working on the National Security Innovation Network’s X-Force Fellowship. 

And although her last year before graduation was unexpectedly altered by the pandemic, Bove made good use of a hybrid schedule and some extra time to write and publish a collection of poems that seeks to show the joy of human connection — an especially relevant theme in a year that lacked a lot of direct human contact. 

“I am passionate about helping people — about forming connections with those around me,” she shares about her poetry book, “A Day of Humanity,”  which she published last summer. “I am passionate about showing people that they are not alone.” Bove gathered “touching stories from a wide variety of people — stories of anxiety, of love, of childhood pains, of friendship” for the book, which features 56 poems across a trio of themes: morning, day, and night. 

Now, as she gets ready to turn a tassel and begin the next chapter of her life, Bove reflects on the spirit of connection and community at Tech, where she says she’s found a home in many ways — on campus and in the classroom, where she’s met peers and professors who have challenged and encouraged her — and through a number of clubs and organizations where she’s made friends and relationships for life. Bove met her husband, Alejandro Muñoz, B.S. MSE 2019, while they were both studying at Georgia Tech. 

“I've grown in every single dimension of my life — emotionally, mentally, spiritually, intellectually,” she says. “I met my husband here. I met lifelong friends here. I've fallen in love with the sound of the Whistle on a sunny fall day. I love Tech.” 

Bove recently joined us virtually for a Q&A on her time as a student and what’s next: 

So, how have your initial expectations of Georgia Tech compared to your actual experience? 

I honestly wasn’t quite sure what to expect out of Georgia Tech when I first enrolled in 2016. I had never heard of Tech until my mom introduced me to it during my college search. I fell in love with the collaborative and innovative atmosphere and decided that I would call GT my home for the next four (which then turned to five) years. I still am surrounded by collaboration and innovation, but I found Tech to be so much more than that, too. I think the biggest shock was the level of success and experience each student brought to the table, and the way everyone really pushes you to be your best. 

What is the most important thing you've learned at Georgia Tech? 

The most important thing that I’ve learned here is the power of asking for help. Georgia Tech is a hard school that really pushes you. One of the ways I think it pushes you is to leave your comfort zone and lean on those around you. It is easy to “stay still” in your frustration and run around a problem over and over in your head without going anywhere — but what is more fruitful is to turn to the person next to you and work together to move forward. That was a really important lesson that allowed me to really engage with my studies. 

What is your proudest achievement at Georgia Tech? 

Georgia Tech has helped me grow so much and become proud of who I am and what I have done. I am especially proud of my senior design project. I worked with a team of four other amazing female biomedical engineers. We started our project in the summer as a part of the National Security Innovation Network’s X-Force Fellowship. We were partnered with the Army Rangers and were tasked with investigating traumatic brain injury in the military.  

This was an exciting project because it allowed me to incorporate some of the insights from my psychology courses as we spent an entire summer conducting interviews and performing a literature review. During the fall semester, we took our findings and designed a “blast attenuator” device for a mortar weapon system that would direct the damaging blast away from the brains of the service members firing the weapon. This design will hopefully be further refined by future teams.  

We also designed an experiment to measure the physiological and cognitive effects and the exact magnitude of the mortar weapon systems’ blasts upon firing. We were able to travel to Fort Benning to conduct this experiment.  

We have won two presentation awards for our work at different conferences and now are working on a research article to publish our findings. I am especially proud of this project, not because of the awards that we have won or for the possibility of having my name in an established research journal, but because my team worked well together and because we are making a real impact in the lives of those who serve us. 

Which professor or class made a big impact on you? 

A class that made a huge impact on me was The Art of Telling Your Story (BMED 4000), taught by Janece Shaffer, Joe Le Doux, and Cristi Bell-Huff. This class was so impactful because it showed me that the science world doesn’t have to be 100% technical — and that soft skills, like effective communication, are essential. After taking and being inspired by the connections formed in this class, I have been a teaching assistant for it for the past two semesters. Each semester I learn something new from the instructional team and from the students in the class. I have a passion for sharing stories, as a poet, and love being a part of this course. 

What is your most vivid memory at Georgia Tech? 

I have had so many amazing memories at Georgia Tech! One of my most vivid memories at Tech is actually one from my first semester. I was in a freshmen lounge with a few other people from my Classical Physics I course.  

We had a test that week and were trying to work through some problems that we didn’t understand. The white board was covered with acceleration and velocity equations, and across the room was an older student who didn’t appear to be paying any attention to us. After some time, we looked up from the problem we were working on to realize he had left. We continued to discuss the best equation to use for the problem we were working on.  

About thirty minutes later, we heard the door to the lounge creak open and then quickly shut. One of the people with me walked over towards the door to investigate. On the floor sat a bright blue box scribbled on with Sharpie: “Because every 1st year studying on Friday night deserves a donut! #stayhype.” Inside were a dozen Sublime Doughnuts.  

In this moment, I fell in love with Georgia Tech even more. It showed me that we are all looking out for each other and willing to help and support each other, any way we can. Georgia Tech is full of caring, smart, and passionate people — and that is why I love it. 

Where are you headed after graduation? 

After graduation I am getting married to another Tech graduate, Alejandro Muñoz, and we are moving up to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. I will be joining 3M as an optimized operations engineer.

At Georgia Tech, I fell in love with learning, and I wanted to be sure my future job would provide continuous education opportunities. I am excited for my role at 3M since I will be joining their Optimized Operations Developmental Program. This will allow me to grow and expand upon the lessons I have learned at Tech. I also hope to continue writing and sharing poetry. 

Are you joining Commencement festivities? 

I will be attending Commencement! I am most looking forward to walking across the stage, and feeling the peace that I have actually done it come over me. My family and fiancé will be in the stands — and I know how proud they are of me.