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Department ofPhysics

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Catching Up with Alumni: Will Boenig, Engineering Physics '04

Will earned his MS in Structural Engineering from Stanford and currently works in Denver.

I recall as a new admit to Santa Clara reviewing the booklet of majors and coming upon the description for Engineering Physics. Depth and breadth in BOTH engineering and physics!

Theory AND application...understanding how the world works. I was hooked. In the whirlwind of my first quarter, I knew I made the right decision when I was at a department BBQ at Dr. Kesten’s house. I loved being around so many talented, friendly people and trying to keep up. My four years gave me all the academic jousting I bargained for and more!

After graduation I pursued my interest in architecture and civil engineering, earning an MS in Structural Engineering at Stanford. But in my first job in that field, I found myself unfulfilled (albeit with a couple of really great mentors). With their support, I searched for a field that I could be passionate about, and that’s when I discovered healthcare. I landed a job with VNUS Medical Technologies as an R&D engineer. It was a terrific time to be there. Over the next three years I contributed to a new product’s design, performed lab testing, set up a manufacturing line, assisted with the patent and regulatory filings, and tested our product in humans. (It worked!)

It was around that time that I found myself growing a bit restless, itching to start something myself. I had the opportunity to do this with my roommate, founding SRECTrade, a company that supports the market for renewable energy credits, in our living room in Menlo Park. This fantastic experience motivated me to go to the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where I came to fully appreciate the analytical skills I had acquired as an Engineering Physics major. At Stanford I had to decide between energy and healthcare. Ultimately, I concluded that healthcare was going to undergo significant and disruptive change in the near future, and I wanted to be a part of it.

I now live in Denver with my wife Rebecca (SCU Biology ‘04) and our 15 month-old baby boy, Henry. I’m a director of operations for DaVita Healthcare Partners and work in their disease management business. We miss the buzz of the Bay Area but have made great friends here and occasionally reconnect with a fellow SCU alum who has also transplanted here. I’m grateful that I started in Physics at SCU and wholeheartedly recommend it to young people who love to learn and want a solid academic foundation that can take you anywhere in life.

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