Boilermaker in biomedical engineering receives 2025 Tyler Trent Award

Ava Flynn pursues innovation in honor of her mother, her own cancer journey and the legacy of Tyler Trent

For Ava Flynn, medicine was never just a career path — it was personal. 

The Purdue biomedical engineering student grew up watching cancer reshape her family’s life.  

“My mom’s whole story is what initially drew me to healthcare,” Flynn says. 

Born in Dublin, Ireland, Flynn moved to the Caribbean with her family and had a picturesque childhood until her mother was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer. 

Her family relocated from the Caribbean to the United States in search of treatment, bouncing between New York, Connecticut, Maryland and Miami while her mother underwent surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation and experimental treatments. Flynn was 12 years old when her mother died in 2015. 

Years later, Flynn faced her own cancer diagnosis. 

During high school, after months of worsening symptoms and multiple misdiagnoses, she learned she had Stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Chemotherapy followed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, isolating her from friends, school and much of everyday life.

Still, she refused to let her cancer diagnosis define her future. 

“I don’t care what’s happening around me,” Flynn says. “I’m going to get through whatever I want to get through.” 

That determination — and her commitment to using hardship to help others — earned Flynn the 2025 Tyler Trent Courage and Resilience Award, which recognizes Purdue students who embody the perseverance and selflessness exemplified by late Purdue student and cancer activist Tyler Trent. 

Persistence is the refusal to succumb to adversity. Instead of letting life hold you back, you’re using it to fuel what you can do for the world around you.

Ava Flynn

Biomedical engineering student

Finding a new direction

Before her diagnosis, Flynn planned to pursue medicine through a traditional premed track. But after years spent in hospitals as both a daughter and patient, she found herself searching for a new way to channel her passion for science and healthcare. 

She started learning more about biomedical engineering, a field that combined her interests in math, science and medicine. When it came time to choose a college, the choice was clear.  

“As an engineering student, of course, where are we going to go?” Flynn says. “We’re going to go to Purdue.” 

At Purdue, Flynn found both academic rigor and opportunity. She was especially drawn to the university’s Global Engineering Alliance for Research and Education program, which allowed her to pursue another lifelong passion: international travel. 

Last spring, Flynn studied abroad in Spain, living with students from around the world while navigating an entirely new culture independently. 

“There is nothing you can compare study abroad to,” Flynn says. “It’s the best choice you can make as an undergraduate. It’s the fastest way to learn who you are.”

Building a future through empathy

Flynn is pursuing Purdue’s 4+1 biomedical engineering program as an Engineering Honors Program student, along with minors in French and global engineering studies.

She hopes to attend medical school after graduation while continuing to explore how engineering and medicine intersect. She remains interested in oncology and has also discovered interests in areas such as electrophysiology and medical device innovation. 

During her senior capstone project, Flynn worked alongside physicians to design and prototype a medical device using Purdue’s biomedical engineering labs. 

“It was a lot of fun,” she says. “Getting hands-on experience has been important to me.” 

Last summer, Flynn lived in France while conducting research on heart regeneration. She’ll return to France this summer for work through a Purdue research collaboration.  

Beyond academics, Flynn remains committed to supporting others affected by cancer. This summer, she will serve as a counselor at Camp Kesem, a camp for children impacted by a parent’s cancer diagnosis — an experience that holds special meaning as a former camper herself. 

Carrying Tyler Trent’s legacy forward

Flynn first discovered the Tyler Trent Award while searching for scholarships. The more she learned about Trent, the more connected she felt. 

“I felt like I was reading a little bit of my own story,” Flynn says. 

Receiving the award, she says, felt deeply validating — not only because of academic achievement but also because of the personal implications.

“This award recognizes something different,” Flynn says. “It’s about strength of character.” 

For Flynn, persistence means refusing to allow adversity to determine the course of her life.  

“Persistence is the refusal to succumb to adversity,” she says. “Instead of letting life hold you back, you’re using it to fuel what you can do for the world around you.” 

It’s a mindset she believes Tyler Trent embodied. And it’s one she hopes to carry forward through medicine, research and service to others.