President and CEO, Katherine Bomkamp International
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kbomkamp
Twitter: @kbomkamp
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/katherine-bomkamp/35/675/182
Website: www.katherinebomkamp.com
Katherine Bomkamp is proof that age doesn’t define what a person can accomplish. At 22 years old, Bomkamp is the president and CEO of her own company, a highly-involved advocate for nonprofits and a full-time student at West Virginia University (WVU). She has proven herself as a force in the business world with her outlook. “I never thought I was too young to do something important,” says Bomkamp.
Growing up in a military family, Bomkamp faced the transitions of service life optimistically. “By the time my dad retired from the Air Force, I had lived in seven states and 16 houses and attended 10 different schools,” she says. “We were exposed to different cultures and unique experiences, and I think that perspective has defined us both as a family and as individuals.”
Bomkamp’s West Virginia-based company, Katherine Bomkamp International, produces the revolutionary Pain Free Socket (PFS), a holistic prosthetic device that uses temperature control to help reduce or eliminate phantom pain experienced by amputees. At the age of 16, Bomkamp’s time spent with her father at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center introduced her to the pain experienced by severely injured soldiers returning home.
After listening to the stories of amputees with different experiences, Bomkamp set out to make a change. “My thought process in developing the PFS was that when I pull a muscle, I apply heat to it,” says Bomkamp. “I wanted to see if I could apply this to treating phantom pain in a mobile environment.” For her 10th grade science project, she developed a prototype of the PFS, a double-walled socket with heating between the two layers, based on the concept of thermal biofeedback that has been used successfully in Europe.
The patented device has garnered recognition from Popular Mechanics magazine, the Royal Society of Medicine in England, the National Gallery for America’s Young Inventors, Intel, the International Council on Systems Engineering and the U. S. military, among others.
Beyond her company, Bomkamp works hard in multiple ways to make a difference in the lives of others. “My parents taught me that my life is bigger than myself,” she says. “I’ve been able to do a lot of work with nonprofits that support wounded veterans and their families. I get excited about turning the things I’m passionate about into serving the needs of others.”
Bomkamp volunteers with On Eagles’ Wings Therapeutic Horsemanship Program, a therapeutic riding program. She also mentors high school students and supports them in making decisions for their future. Bomkamp’s Web site and Twitter account have provided a platform for her to raise awareness for several nonprofits, including Achilles International, America’s VetDogs, Fisher House Foundation, Homes for Our Troops and Wounded Warrior Project. In 2012, Bomkamp was chosen as a Campus Compact Newman Civic Fellow for her work in community service and therapeutic technology.
Now a political science major at WVU, Bomkamp has to remain very organized. “Balance has always been a very delicate thing in my life,” she explains. “It can be a challenge to envision the future and look at the big picture of a product you have created while still being able to execute the day-to-day tasks that get you to the end result.”
Bomkamp credits her family and mentors for her accomplishments. “My parents have always been my biggest supporters and have sacrificed more than I’ll ever know to allow me to pursue my research everywhere it’s taken me,” says Bomkamp. “I’ve also been surrounded by some incredible people and been truly blessed to work with some of the most intelligent and talented people in the State of West Virginia. I never had control over where I lived before I chose to come to West Virginia for college, and I have never regretted that choice for a second.”
What is your favorite . . . ?
Color – Blue
Food – Pasta salad
Ice Cream – Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Animal – Horses
Book – “A Whole New Mind”
App – Twitter
Midnight Snack – Cheetos
TV Show – “Community”
Movie – “Argo”
Smell – Pumpkin
Sports Team – West Virginia University Mountaineers
Car – Jeep Liberty
Pet – Dogs
Place – Milan Puskar Stadium on a fall day
Written by Amy Arnett
Photography by Tracy Toler on location at Smith Company Motor Cars
