Starting with Curiosity: The Journey of Noble’s First Scholar

That interest was deeply personal. Throughout her life, she watched her grandfather navigate various health challenges and saw how advances in healthcare and pharmaceutical technology enabled him to remain engaged in family activities and everyday experiences. Witnessing the difference innovation could make for both patients and their loved ones inspired her to learn more about the industry and the role she could play within it.

When searching for an internship, Noble’s patient-first culture immediately stood out.

“The patient-first mentality and work ethic immediately caught my attention,” Emmons said. “I wanted to learn from an organization that never loses sight of who the end user is and why the work matters.”

A Different Kind of Internship

Emmons joined Noble as the inaugural participant in the Noble Scholars Program, an initiative designed to provide students with meaningful exposure to the business while helping them discover where their interests may lead.

Structured around three levels, Rising Sophomores, Rising Juniors, and Rising Seniors, the program is designed to evolve alongside participants and provide increasingly specialized experiences. The inaugural year focuses on Rising Sophomores and emphasizes exploration.

Rather than spending an entire summer within a single department, Scholars rotate through multiple business functions to gain a broader understanding of how the organization operates. Throughout her internship, Emmons has worked alongside teams in Design and Engineering, Sales, Operations and Supply Chain, Quality, Marketing, and User Experience.

“What surprised me most has been seeing how interconnected everything is,” Emmons said. “Every team depends on one another, and every project contributes to a larger goal. With each rotation, another piece of the picture comes into focus.”

The rotational structure helps students understand not only the individual responsibilities of each team, but also how collaboration across functions ultimately supports patients.

Learning Beyond the Classroom

One of the most valuable aspects of the experience has been discovering lessons that extend beyond traditional coursework.

Before joining Noble, Emmons expected User Experience to be largely design-focused and assumed teams would operate more independently. Instead, she found a highly collaborative environment where decisions are guided by real user feedback and success is measured through usability, accessibility, comfort, and patient outcomes.

One of the clearest examples of this patient-centered approach is usability testing. At Noble, users and patients provide feedback throughout the development process, helping teams design solutions that address real-world needs rather than assumptions.

“Patient-centricity isn’t just a phrase here,” Emmons said. “You see it in practice through user testing, conversations about patient needs, and the way teams make decisions. The patient perspective is always part of the discussion.”

The experience has also broadened her understanding of career possibilities. Her favorite rotation so far has been User Experience, where team members represent a wide variety of educational and professional backgrounds.

“What stood out to me was how many different paths led people to the same team,” she said. “It showed me that where you start academically does not determine where you’ll end up professionally.”

Through this rotation, she was also able to see firsthand how Noble’s work impacts patients by observing product testing and listening to user experiences.

Contributing from Day One

A cornerstone of the Noble Scholars Program is participation, not observation.

Throughout the summer, Emmons has contributed to projects supporting ongoing initiatives across the company. Her work has included creating 3D CAD models, building custom testing fixtures, developing Power BI dashboards, and supporting cross-functional problem-solving efforts.

“The range of projects has been incredible,” Emmons said. “One week I might be building something physical for a testing system, and another week I could be analyzing data or working with project teams. Every experience has taught me something different.”

Equally impactful has been the mentorship she has received along the way. Employees across departments have invested time in helping her learn about their roles, build her professional network, and gain insights that extend well beyond technical skills.

Looking Ahead

As the internship continues, Emmons says the experience is already influencing how she thinks about her future. While her chemical engineering background initially pointed her toward highly technical roles, the interdisciplinary nature of the program has sparked a growing interest in innovation-focused work centered on solving user challenges.

The experience has reinforced an important lesson: where you begin does not determine where you will end up.

For future Noble Scholars, her advice is simple: “Talk with everyone. Be curious. Ask questions. People here have incredible experiences and unique career journeys. The more you learn from them, the more you’ll learn about yourself and where you might want to go.”

As Noble expands the Scholars Program in the years ahead, the goal remains the same: create opportunities for students to explore, contribute, and develop a deeper understanding of how innovation happens.

For its first Scholar, the experience has already delivered something meaningful, exposure to an industry driven by purpose, collaboration, and patient impact. For Noble, it is only the beginning.