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When Abigail Moeller was exploring college options, she was not looking for just one program. She was looking for a place that would let her combine many — engineering, Chinese language and culture, and manufacturing. To her surprise, she found that place at the University of ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ.

“There’s a university in my home state, where I could combine all of these passions,” Moeller said. “At other schools, maybe I could get one or two of those programs. Here, I could merge them all together.”

A Tupelo native and a , Moeller will graduate in May with a degree in with an emphasis in biodevices, a second degree in Chinese through the university’s Chinese Language Flagship Program, and minors in manufacturing and mathematics. She is also a member of the and the .

Moeller initially planned to become a doctor, inspired by her father’s work in medicine. But as she grew older, she realized she was more interested in the innovations that power the field behind the scenes: devices, diagnostics and tools that improve patient outcomes.

“I still wanted to contribute to the medical field,” she said. “But I realized I wanted to contribute in a different way by developing the technology that makes treatment possible.”

Moeller was also eager to study Chinese. As someone adopted from China, she felt drawn to reconnect with the language and culture of her origin.

Her sister had completed the Chinese Language Flagship Program, and she saw that it could be possible to do both.

“I wanted to extend my reach and perspective,” she said. “Studying Chinese opened the door to working with people around the world, to understanding international consumer markets and to developing solutions that work across cultures.”

She spent two summers abroad. During the first, in Chiayi, Taiwan, she took a full-language pledge: no English, even outside the classroom, and only Mandarin every day, everywhere. The following summer, she continued her studies in Taipei.

In spring 2024, she studied international business etiquette in Japan. 

“It’s one thing to move to a new city or state, but it’s something completely different to live in another country,” she said. “It changed how I see the world.”

Through the CME, she deepened her understanding of manufacturing processes and learned to think holistically — how to bring a product from design to market. That lens shaped how she approached biomedical engineering, giving her an edge when thinking about innovation and scalability.

Alongside her coursework, Moeller joined a research team led by Nikki Reinemann, associate professor of biomedical engineering.

“She’s one of my biggest role models,” Moeller said. “She’s so insightful and proactive, while also being very grounded and supportive.

"She makes it clear that she cares about her students, and she’s a beautiful example of what it means to be both a professor and a mentor.”

Reinemann said she enjoyed mentoring Moeller.

“She’s a driven and creative researcher who takes on challenging projects with enthusiasm and brings fresh ideas," Reinemann said. "With her persistence, innovative thinking and passion for her work, I’m confident Abigail will make meaningful contributions to the field and go far in her career.”

That mentorship helped Moeller thrive, not just in the lab, but across every area of her undergraduate career. Her accomplishments include winning fifth place at the ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ IDeA EPSCoR Conference, presenting research at international conferences and receiving the Biophysical Society Travel Award.

She also earned the Dean’s Excellence Award from the and was named an exceptional student in Chinese by the Department of Modern Languages. Moeller is a member of Tau Beta Pi and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies and was recently inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

After graduation, Moeller plans to merge her interests together again through Rice University’s Global Medical Innovation master’s program.

The one-year track focuses on bioengineering and medical device development and includes an international internship, likely in Kenya, Costa Rica or Brazil. There, she will apply both her technical skills and global perspective before returning to Houston to complete the degree.

She knows the road ahead won’t be easy, but that doesn’t bother her. After all, she’s been warned before.

“I was told many times that combining all of these programs would be difficult,” she said. “And it certainly was. But I accepted the challenge because I knew how important each of them was to me.”

One philosophy she will carry with her comes from her time in the CME: “kaizen,” the principle of continuous improvement.

“You can always make a system better,” Moeller said. “That’s how I’ve approached college.

"If there’s something you want to try or something new you want to learn or create, don’t be afraid to go after it, even if you’re the first or only one to do it.”

Top: Blending biomedical engineering, Chinese language and culture, and manufacturing, Stamps Scholar Abigail Moeller charted her own course at the university, graduating with dual degrees and a global outlook. Her interdisciplinary journey reflects a commitment to innovation, continuous improvement and making a global impact in medical technology. Photo by Srijita Chattopadhyay/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

See more photos from Abigail Moeller's Journey to Commencement