Achieve College Intern Kevyn Perkins has become a lifesaver

At age 23, Kevyn Perkins is a new supplier engineer at Boston Scientific, where he’s working hard to improve the lives of people who use the company’s medical devices. “I always knew I wanted to work in the medical device industry,” he says. “I knew I wanted to save lives.”

In his professional role, Kevyn focuses on quality control, collaborating with the Boston Scientific design team to qualify the components that go into the medical devices the company creates. He works hard and he is clear about the value of his work. “I’ve met people with our devices inside them and each person talked about how it’s keeping them alive,” he says with wonder. “It reminds me of the power behind the engineering, as my colleagues and I strive to make devices that add to the gift of life.”

An Achieve College Internships (ACI) role at Boston Scientific opened the door to Kevyn’s dream career, and he walked through it. As an intern, he worked with stents and catheters, and later went on to focus on research and development for hardware design. “Achieve helped me realize that Boston Scientific was the right place for me, and they were beside me every step of the way,” he says. “I will never forget how Brenda from the ACI team drove all the way to the Boston Scientific campus to see how things were going for me.”

The first in his family to go to college, Kevyn was an Ignite Scholar at the University of St. Thomas where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering. He was also a participant in the Black Men’s Success Initiative, a program that assists collegiate black men with leadership and professional development. “That program gave me life-long relationships and provided opportunities to gain skills to make a smooth transition from college to corporate,” Kevyn explains. “And it connected me with the Achieve College Internship program where I found help with achieving my dream.”

For Kevyn, the dream began in his hometown of Menomonie, Wisconsin where his loving family has always provided support. “My older brother is in the military and is my role model. He instilled the value of hard work in me,” Kevyn says with a grateful tone. “And, I remember our mother saying, ‘If you fall, fall forward.’ So when I meet a challenge, I push through it.”

With energy and a commitment to being himself, Kevyn lights up a room with his professed “social engineering” skills. He often gets feedback that he is a warm, energetic and confident person, and thinks this might be why he stood out among other internship applicants at Boston Scientific. These qualities were also apparent recently when he took the stage at the Achieve Twin Cities Annual Fall Celebration to share stories about his college internship and be recognized for his achievements.  

“I want other students to know they should go for it!” he says. “Participating in the Achieve College Internships program is the best decision I ever made. Without it, it would have been harder to build my professional network and strengthen my resume. They helped me with all of that and also provided the opportunity to do mock job interviews with people in my field, which really paid off.”

For Kevyn, the payoff is a job that he believes he’s destined to do and an opportunity to pay it forward. “I want to build a solid technical base, and then move into leadership,” he says confidently.

“And then, I want to mentor young people. It’s nice to get a lift as you rise. I will always remember that Achieve Twin Cities lifted me up, and I’m grateful. And someday, I want to give back. These are the values my Mama instilled in me.”

Hear Kevyn speak about his experience at our 2023 Achieve Twin Cities Annual Celebration (minute 37:35) and learn more about Achieve College Internships and how you can hire an intern for next summer.