International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), observed every year on June 23, recognizes the accomplishments of women engineers around the world and aims to encourage more young women to pursue careers in engineering.
In celebration of INWED 2024’s theme “Enhanced by Engineering,” Arthrex would like to highlight one engineer in particular who enhances lives through her contributions to manufacturing products that are Helping Surgeons Treat Their Patients Better®.
Arthrex Manufacturing Inc. East (AMIE) Manufacturing Engineer II Thelma Sanchez Navarro moved from the Dominican Republic to the United States the summer before her junior year of high school.
Growing up, Thelma spent most of her weekends assisting with medical missions sponsored by the foundation her godfather had established to bring medical care to the remote areas beyond Santo Domingo.
“While the medical team examined and treated patients, it was my job to help distribute the food and toys we brought along,” she said.
Thelma said being exposed to the humanitarian side of medicine at such a young age inspired her to want to be a doctor.
“More specifically, I wanted to go into neurosurgery,” she said. “My brother-in-law’s father was the first neurosurgeon in the Dominican Republic, and knowing how he shaped and developed this discipline really inspired me.”
After graduating high school, Thelma enrolled in Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) with a major in Bioengineering, which fulfilled her pre-med requirements and included a heavy focus on math, one of her favorite subjects.
During her senior year at FGCU, Thelma applied for, and was offered, an internship with Arthrex’s Imaging and Resection (I&R) Synergy Design team at the global headquarters in Naples, Florida. But Thelma’s internship, along with all of the other Arthrex internships scheduled to begin in March 2020, was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thelma said her initial idea was to take a gap year after graduation, during which she planned to enjoy a little downtime and focus on her medical school applications. But, given the ever-changing circumstances surrounding COVID and her newly discovered passion for engineering, she decided to pursue a career using the degree she’d just obtained.
Thelma was hired onto the AMIE Manufacturing Engineering team in June 2020 and garnered immediate attention for her out-of-the-box thinking and dedication to Arthrex’s mission.
“She’s young, having joined us right out of college, and yet she’s the person everyone goes to when they have a question,” said Manufacturing Engineering Manager Chris Godfrey.
“She understands the process steps as well as the products,” Synergy East Value Stream Manager Junior Petit Jean added, “and she motivates everyone around her because she’s always giving 120 percent.”
In her four years at Arthrex, Thelma has been involved in several significant projects designed to improve product velocity, essentially how quickly raw material can be transformed to a finished product. She was also the project lead on insourcing the production of two small joint shaver blades.
“Bringing the production of these blades to AMIE allows for more control and improved quality,” Junior said. “It also paves the way for us to bring the manufacture of even more products in-house.”
But of all the projects she’s worked on thus far, Thelma said she’s most proud of her role in overseeing the design and production of AMIE’s new laser welding system and leading the process of moving the machine into production.
“She took an idea and brought it to life,” said Junior.
AMIE’s new laser welding system was developed exclusively for Arthrex. It is currently being used to manufacture the 4 mm outer tubes of shavers, a size represented across all shaver families, although it is capable of welding any shaver included in the I&R team’s portfolio.
“It was a complex project that represents a huge accomplishment for our team,” Thelma said. “It defines how we will weld parts in the future and how we’ll implement new machinery going forward.”
Operational Excellence Senior Manager Justin Mills recognized Thelma’s role in meeting the 30-day implementation goal once the new welder arrived at AMIE.
“She created a detailed cross-functional action plan and held daily huddles with stakeholders to quickly address issues and make sure nothing slipped through the cracks,” he said. “The results of her efforts have helped set the benchmark on how quickly we can put capital equipment into service.”
Thelma said she feels Arthrex is the perfect fit for her, allowing her to play a part in making patients better – even if her day-to-day contribution looks a little different than she’d initially envisioned.
“Thelma’s passion for her work motivated me to become a part of the Arthrex family, too,” said Thelma’s sister, Translation Project Manager Katherine Hernandez Navarro. “I see her fulfilled in her career, and as her big sister, that makes me happy. Our entire family is extremely proud of her accomplishments.”
“Being a young female engineer in manufacturing – and the only female on my team – could be intimidating at times, especially in the beginning,” Thelma said. “If I were going to give advice – to anyone in a new role, really – I would say, don’t be afraid to ask questions, and don’t be afraid to speak up. Just because you’re the newest member of a team or have the least experience doesn’t mean you don’t have something worthwhile to contribute.”