Nicholas Petras
After graduating in 2018, Nicholas Petras, Iota Nu (Mississippi State), began his career as a manufacturing engineer at Smith & Nephew, manufacturing orthopedic implants for knees, hips and trauma plates. Originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, he did not know many people when he started at Mississippi State, so his decision to go through fraternity rush and join Pi Kappa Phi was what pushed him out of his comfort zone and helped him build lasting relationships on campus. He currently resides in Jacksonville, Florida, where he first served as a business unit integration leader at Zimmer Biomet. There, he designed cranioplasty implants for traumatic brain injuries and implants for jaw replacements. In 2022, he earned his master’s of business administration from the University of Memphis and was promoted to business unit integration lead, leading a team of 20 people to integrate a new product line of implants that will be used for patients undergoing open heart surgery. Coming from a low-income military family, Nicholas worked full-time each summer to afford tuition and to pay his dues, which he says instilled a sense of hard work and commitment in him. In his spare time, he volunteers with local high schools, serving as a mentor to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) students to show them the ways in which college can create life-changing opportunities for them, just as it did for him. He has written recommendation letters for students that have helped them gain admission to prestigious institutions. His sense of loyalty to his employees, family and his students is something he learned from Pi Kappa Phi and that he has fully adopted into all areas of his life.
Nicholas and his fellow Thirty Under 30 recipients will be honored at the 2023 Pi Kapp Alumni Reunion. Interested in joining us? Click here to learn more.