From a young age, Gavin Kruse was fascinated by how things worked, often taking apart household gadgets to satisfy his curiosity—much to his parents’ dismay.
Now, as a mechanical engineering major at ɫTV University, he’s putting the same ingenuity to meaningful use, designing and building assistive devices to improve the life of a child with special needs.
“Being able to use my skills to help others, that’s just the best,” he said.
A graduate of Bluffton High School, Gavin chose ONU’s T.J. Smull College of Engineering because of the abundant opportunities for hands-on learning.
He’s comfortable in ONU’s engineering labs and maker space, where he knows professors are just around the corner to answer questions and provide guidance.
“I spend a lot of time on the family farm helping with repairs, so being in a machine shop is second nature to me and it’s where I most like to be,” he explains.
In addition to contributing his mechanical expertise to ONU’s Baja SAE team, Gavin is enjoying the challenges of an ONU course called EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service).
As a first-year student, he helped design and build an iPad stand to better support a developmentally challenged child. Now, as a sophomore taking EPICS, he’s designing and building a custom feeding tube holder for the same child. He is confident that the feeding tube holder will empower the child to take a more independent role in his own feedings.
Through these projects, Gavin has obtained knowledge that will benefit him in the future.
“I’ve improved my design skills, and I’ve learned the process of understanding a client’s needs.”