Meet Susanna Abler
INDS Spring 2022 Graduate Highlight Series
B.A. INDS: Art and Custom Prosthetic Design
B.A.: Visual Arts, Animation
Degree Mentors
- Foad Hamidi, Information Systems
- Symmes Gardner, Visual Arts
- Steven McAlpine, Individualized Study
When I learned about the INDS program, it seemed like the best fit for my career plans! I came to UMBC as an animation major both out of a love for the medium and with the hopes I would learn some useful 3D modeling techniques I could use for prosthetic design. I didn't think an engineering degree would cover everything I wanted and my heart has always been with the visual arts. But when I found out I could create a degree through the INDS program I knew it was what I was looking for. My degree requires a multitude of different perspectives; from engineering, psychology, visual arts, and disability studies. An INDS degree offered me both the opportunity to pull from different disciplines through varied course work as well as integrative tools and strategies to understand how these disciplines relate to one another. Having this integrated perspective allows me to approach prosthetic design with a broader understanding of the factors that impact prosthetic creation and acceptance.
What are your plans for after graduation, and how do you see using your INDS degree?
EXTRACURRICULAR
In the long term I hope to be able to work on a freelance basis designing and fabricating custom prosthetics for people. My immediate post-graduation plans have shifted a bit recently. I would really like to take some time off from academia so I am looking into getting a job or internship as a prosthetic technician or to begin training for that role right after I graduate. I am hoping to do that for at least a year or two before returning to get my masters, either going through med school to become a certified prosthetist or pursuing a Fulbright scholarship to get a degree in Integrated Product Design in the Netherlands. While it may take a while for me to ever have my own business in creating custom cosmetic prosthetics, I can see myself working as a technician and experimenting with ways to innovate the current cosmetic options while within the current industry. Either way I'll be able to put my degree to good use fabricating prosthetics, whether it's on my own or as a part of a larger organization.
I was able to present at URCAD with an animated short from my Intro to Animation class in 2019 and presented again in 2020 as a part of a team for the Kinetic Sculpture Redesign. I also worked as a TA for the Spring 2021 semester for the Kinetic Sculpture. Over the summer of 2021 I received a grant for the Linehan Summer Research award and was able to spend my summer researching 3D printing and modeling techniques and begin fabricating my own prosthetic prototypes. I am currently working as an assistant researcher with UMBC's DARE LAB for the Rec2Tech program in Baltimore. This research is about developing a curriculum for teachers to teach students how to use different Makerspace tools. I have dabbled in some clubs over the years, I participated in some Animation Club activities and I'm hoping to be more involved in the Disabled Student Union of UMBC this semester!
For more information on Susanna's INDS journey please click here:
Posted: April 4, 2022, 11:17 AM
