From Caregiver to Engineer

From Caregiver to Engineer Mon, 09/28/2026 - 11:00 Subheader Meet Medtronic Spark Scholarship recipient Shawn Wei and discover how a passion for helping others inspired a future in healthcare innovation Body When Shawn Wei was 9 years old, hospitals became a regular part of his life. His father was receiving throat cancer care at Kaiser Oakland Medical Center in California, and Wei spent hours in waiting rooms and hallways. He was drawn to the medical equipment around him. Today, that curiosity has grown into a passion for healthcare technology. This fall, Wei, a recent high school graduate from Berkeley, California, will begin studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Southern California as a recipient of a Medtronic Spark Scholarship. Behind that achievement is a story of resilience and service. Learning to put others first When he was around 8 years old, the apartment where he lived burned down in a roofing accident, leaving his family homeless. They moved between temporary homes until they settled into the house where they live today. About a year after the fire, his father received his cancer diagnosis. During his father's illness, Wei's mother spent much of her tim