UVA Engineering students make an impact in the world long before they graduate. More than “just” scholars, they are innovators, leaders and changemakers. Driven to serve and inspire, they are engineering for the greater good — here on Grounds, in the Charlottesville community and beyond.
As our graduating students move on to even bigger things, we celebrate their achievements and look forward to watching them build a brighter future in research, education, service, industry and beyond.
Below, meet just a few of many outstanding members of the Class of 2026.
Preyonty Rabbani
Major: Chemical Engineering
Designing clean energy solutions for everyone
Preyonty Rabbani always knew she wanted to work for a cleaner future. It’s the reason she picked chemical engineering as her major.
At UVA, she learned how engineering shapes communities and industries, but also realized that “good” doesn’t mean the same thing for everyone: Technologies may be framed as solutions, but they can be blind to certain communities — even those they are designed to serve.
Engineering for the greater good means being intentional about those tradeoffs — designing systems, like cleaner energy technologies, that reduce environmental impact while also considering the broader social context and who is affected.
Taking a big step toward her career goal, Rabbani will head to Chicago after graduation to help advance clean energy as a full-time design engineer for Honeywell UOP.
Awards and Activities: Chemical Engineering Thanksgiving Potluck Turkey Cook-off winner (2024, 2025); Society of Women Engineers, American Institute of Chemical Engineers
Shoutout: Classmates Hannah Hulse, Joanne Kuan and Harkiran Singh
Memory: “Every year, the chemical engineering department hosts a Thanksgiving potluck. The potluck features a turkey cook-off, where the third- and fourth-year [students] compete to make the best turkey. My classmate Harkiran Singh and I won the last two years by making delicious Tandoori-style turkeys. I loved seeing our class come together for some fun rivalry and food.”
Favorite Place to Meet Up With Friends on E-Way: “The hammock in Darden Courtyard!”
Katie Fidler
Major: Systems Engineering
Tackling climate policy from an engineer’s perspective
Katie Fidler made the most of her time at UVA. Known as the founder and executive director of the student-led club BAPS — short for Become a Problem-Solver — she also got involved outside the engineering school. She is especially grateful for the Policy Internship Program, led by associate professor Rider Foley, landing her a research position with the White House in 2024. She credits the program for opening many doors, including working with NASA in 2025, where she continued applying her systems-thinking and engineering lenses to an environmental policy challenge.
PIP allowed me to learn and serve at the local, federal and international policy level. It showed me the deep value of bringing engineers into the policy space.
This fall, Fidler will start her M.S. in Technology and Policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, pursuing a technical and research concentration in climate change mitigation.
Awards and Activities: National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, UVA Engineering Outstanding Student Award, Jefferson Scholar, Rodman Scholar, Systems and Information Engineering Outstanding Student Award; Society of Women Engineers, International Council on Systems Engineering, Policy Internship Program, BAPS (founder and executive director), UVA STAR, Study Abroad Programs (UVA in Dominica, UVA in Argentina), Intramural Beach Volleyball, Intramural Flag Football, Pi Beta Phi, etc.
Faculty Advisors and Mentors: Reid Bailey, Rider Foley
Why Engineering? “To learn practical skills to help me solve problems for others. I chose UVA Engineering because I also wanted to learn how to better communicate technical information to non-technical audiences, with hopes to ultimately advance efficiency across larger systems.”
Favorite Study Spot: “Wilsdorf! So many outlets + so much UVA spirit!”
Harkiran Singh
Major: Chemical Engineering
A new way of thinking
Ever since high school, Harkiran Singh had her mind set on becoming an engineer — anything else was out of the question.
I knew I wanted to learn a new way of thinking that can be translated to pretty much any field.
UVA’s Department of Chemical Engineering provided the challenge and community she was after. Singh volunteered at open houses and the Asian American Student Center in Newcomb Hall, teaching art and empowering her peers. Soon, she will take her “new way of thinking” to Eli Lilly, where she’s accepted a job as a process engineer.
Awards and Activities: David L. Preddy Award for Chemical Engineering Design; Chemical Engineering Thanksgiving Potluck Turkey Cook-off winner (2024, 2025); American Institute of Chemical Engineers (UVA chapter president), Asian American Student Center
Faculty Advisor and Mentor: Lakeshia Taite
Life on Grounds Beyond Engineering: “Besides being involved in my major, I used to work at the Asian American student center in Newcomb Hall. I loved getting the chance to empower the Asian American community and contribute to a space that was our own. I used to teach art classes there too so that allowed me to get back in touch with my creative side.”
Leadership Experience: “As a fourth year I had the privilege of being the president of the AIChE student chapter. Not only did I get to foster meaningful connections with professors outside of the classroom, I also mentored first- and second-year [students], which has been a highlight for me this year.”
Favorite Study Spot: “Second floor of Wilsdorf … I spend way too much time there.”
Zachary Palazzotto
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Training tomorrow’s engineering leaders
For Zachary Palazzotto, UVA Engineering was an obvious choice: He loved its small-school feel with the resources of a large state university. Proximity to the health sciences ensured a clinical focus in his biomedical engineering classes.
I knew I would be trained, not just educated.
After graduation, Palazzotto will join Merck’s Manufacturing Leadership Development Program, where he will rotate to a new domestic or international pharmaceutical manufacturing site each year for three years.
Awards and Activities: Gray-Carrington Scholarship, UVA Engineering Outstanding Student Award, Lawn resident; Engineering Student Council (president), Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity (social chair), Inter-Fraternity Council
Faculty Advisors and Mentors: Frances McBride (Center for Engineering Career Development), David Chen (principal investigator and capstone advisor), Lisa Kopelnik (College of Arts & Sciences 2025)
Leadership Experience: “It has been the honor of a lifetime to live in Lawn Room 19. Engineering is the second-largest undergraduate school, and engineering students are historically underrepresented on the Lawn. To live here, have engineering events on my door, interview students for Engineering Student Council in my room, and show all of UVA that the extroverted engineers do exist was a true pleasure.”
Why Engineering? “I was always interested in math and science. I used an ‘Anatomage’ table in my College Medical Anatomy Class in my junior year of high school. I saw how medical technology could help students and could only imagine what it could do for patients!”
Why UVA Engineering? “It had the feel of a small school with only 3,300 undergraduate students, with the resources of a large state university. I also admired the proximity of the Health System to the engineering school, which provided an amazing clinical focus in my biomedical engineering classes. As a result of this, I knew I would be trained, not just educated.”
What “Engineering for the Greater Good” Means: “Understanding that we are real human beings with values, goals and ethically framed decisions. We are not machines carrying out aimless tasks. At UVA Engineering, I have been taught that society will shape the technology I build, and the technology I build will shape society. This is a huge responsibility that I don’t take lightly.”
Memory: “I got to address the entire first-year engineering class in Old Cabell Hall while serving as ESC president. This makes me smile because I have had hundreds of mentors over the years who shared advice with me that changed my values and vision. I was able to relay that altogether to the next generation of leaders.”
Natasha D’Cunha
Major: Chemical Engineering with Data Analytics concentration
Engaged research and service
Natasha D’Cunha made some of her closest friends through organizations like UVA’s chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. But her involvement didn’t stop there.
[Stepping outside the Engineering School] helped shape me holistically and allowed me to engage with sectors of the University I would have never previously engaged with.
D’Cunha’s hard work in the classroom scored her two academic awards and a job as a process engineer at Eastman Chemical Company.
Awards and Activities: Harrison Research Award, Dudley M. Harman Scholarship, Excellence in Undergraduate Research Award, Louis T. Rader Chemical Engineering Prize; The Spectra: The Virginia Science and Engineering Research Journal, Engineering Guide Service, Society of Women Engineers, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Meriwether Lewis Institute for Citizen Leadership, American Chemical Society, Public Service Pathways Program
Faculty Advisors and Mentors: Ronald Unnerstall, Geoffrey Geise
Meaningful Involvement: “UVA’s American Institute of Chemical Engineers student chapter has given me my closest friends and helped me feel the community UVA Engineering is best known for.”
Favorite Memory/Tradition: “The Chemical Engineering Semiformal — the place where I got closest to my friends and professors and was proud of the culture and community that ChE cultivates amongst its constituents.”
Shreyas Mayya
Major: Computer Science
Responsible computer science
Growing up, Shreyas Mayya was fascinated by computers. He also loved music. At UVA, he found a way to combine his passions. A computer science major “by day” and clarinet player “by night,” Mayya immersed himself in UVA’s collaborative and enriching community.
Soon, he will start as a security engineer at Dropbox. He knows his job has the potential to change lives.
Engineers don’t exist in a vacuum. We have a responsibility to ensure that the work we do positively impacts the people around us.
Awards and Activities: Association for Computing Machinery student chapter (chair); Computer and Network Security Club (president); lead teaching assistant, CS 3140; Cavalier Symphony Orchestra (clarinet); Raven Society; UVA Cyber Defense Team (captain); UVA High School Programming Contest
Faculty Advisors and Mentors: N. Rich Nguyen, Mark Floryan
Leadership Experience: “The most meaningful honor for me has been serving as captain of UVA’s cyber defense team for the last two years. In that time, we’ve extended our regional winning streak to four consecutive years and notched our first top-3 national placement since 2020. Our team consists of some of the brightest and hardest-working people I know, and I am incredibly privileged to be their teammate as we represent UVA on a national stage.
What “Engineering for the Greater Good” Means: “Engineers don’t exist in a vacuum. We have a responsibility to ensure that the work we do positively impacts the people around us. For me, that means always keeping in mind who’s affected by my work and creations — both users and future maintainers alike — and shaping what I do to benefit them as much as I can.”
Favorite Tradition/Event: “The annual UVA High School Programming Contest! Over 100 high school students from across the state come to Grounds every spring to test their programming skills. It’s a lot of work to organize, but it’s one of the most fulfilling things I work on every year and a highlight of my college experience!”
Anne Marie Branch
Major: Aerospace Engineering, Minor: Astronomy
Launching the future of engineering
I wanted to build rockets.
Anne Marie Branch had a clear goal in mind when she decided to study engineering, and UVA did not disappoint. As an aerospace engineering major and president of the UVA Rocketry Team, Branch did build rockets. She also found her people.
Before starting full-time as a mechanical engineer for the Naval Sea Systems Command at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, she will compete at the 2026 International Rocket Engineering Competition in Texas.
Awards and Activities: UVA Rocketry Team (president)
Faculty Advisor and Mentor: Craig Nickol
Leadership Experience: “This past year, I’ve had the honor of being the president of the UVA Rocketry Team. Under the mentorship of outstanding professors and former team leads, I have really grown into the role and learned how to structure an engineering project from start to finish and manage a wide variety of complex sub-teams. It’s been incredibly fulfilling to [watch as] my fellow leads and younger team members develop as engineers and learn new skills.”
Memory: “Watching the Artemis II launch with friends from Rocketry and other engineering teams in Lacy Hall.”
Why Engineering? “I wanted to build rockets.”
Favorite Study Spot/Place to Meet Friends: “The Mech Lounge.”
Lauren Elizabeth Horde
Degree: Systems Engineering, Ph.D.
Balancing rigorous research with recreation
Florida native Lauren Elizabeth Horde fell in love with hiking while a graduate student at UVA. Frequent trips to nearby Shenandoah National Park deepened friendships and personal (re)connection, while UVA Engineering offered just the right balance of academic rigor and support.
There’s a genuine sense that everyone is invested in your success and growth as a student and researcher.
After graduation, Horde will join General Motors in Detroit as a biosensing researcher.
Awards and Activities: National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, Ruthie Oxford Memorial Award; Graduate Student Council
Faculty Advisor and Mentor: Sara Riggs
Leadership Experience: “My time in a leadership role on the Graduate Student Council within the SIE department was a highlight of my graduate experience. It was rewarding to help shape the graduate experience in our department by organizing social events, supporting new student recruitment efforts and serving as a liaison between students and faculty.”
Why UVA Engineering? “UVA Engineering strikes a rare balance — the program maintains academic and research excellence while its staff and faculty are among the warmest I’ve encountered. From day one, there’s a genuine sense that everyone is invested in your success and growth as a student and researcher.”
Favorite Study Spot: The Charles L. Brown Science & Engineering Library
Favorite Tradition/Event: The Engineering Football Tailgate
Gracelin Ann Jones
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Late nights in the E-School
Gracie Jones will always remember working until 5 a.m. to fix a broken clock in UVA Engineering’s Mechatronics Lab in time for the 2026 Engineering Open House. It wasn’t just any old clock, though. The Sands of Time is a giant robotic hourglass clock created by mechanical engineering students in 2019. It was upgraded in 2023, and again this spring in Gavin Garner’s Art of Timekeeping class — a class that inspired Jones to fall in love with mechanical engineering all over again.
The joy I felt when the clock finally told time correctly with the synchronized LEDs was unbeatable. It was worth the lack of sleep a hundred times over, and my team members were so inspiring that this experience made the project one of my core memories at UVA.
Jones will join the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division as an engineer focusing on model-based systems engineering and testing and evaluation processes.
Awards and Activities: Student bus driver for UVA Transit, senior resident advisor, resident advisor, UVA Rocketry Team (treasurer)
Faculty Advisors and Mentors: Gavin Garner, George Prpich
Life on Grounds Beyond Engineering: “I’ve been working for the University Transit System as a student driver since fall of my first year. I love the community and enjoy waving at my driver friends as they drive by.”
Leadership Experience: “I have been in Housing and Residence Life for three years; two years as a resident advisor and one as a senior resident. This role has taught me more than any other leadership role I’ve ever held. I’ve learned how to be an empathetic leader, trust my abilities and recognize that I have an impact on the UVA community.”
What “Engineering for the Greater Good” Means: “Engineering for the greater good means recognizing the impact that my designs have on people and culture, both intended and unintended.”
Favorite Study Spot: Mechanical Engineering Lounge
Favorite Tradition/Event: “Open House!”
Eleanore “Nora” Rae Scheer
Degree: Systems Engineering, Ph.D.
Leveling the playing field through engineering
Nora Scheer was drawn to systems engineering because she likes solving complex problems that affect people’s lives — especially when those problems come from poorly connected processes, technologies and environments.
She now co-designs research with disabled people. As with other populations most impacted by the systems created for them, they are often excluded from designing them, she says, despite their valuable lived experience.
I hope to create solutions that are not only efficient, but also inclusive, practical and responsive to the real needs of disabled communities.
After graduation, Scheer will work as a postdoctoral fellow/trainee at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the Department of Anesthesiology and in the Center for Research Innovation and System Safety.
Awards and Activities: National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, Sture G. Olsson Graduate Fellowship in Engineering, American Medical Informatics Association Diana Forsythe Award; Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (co-president), SIE Graduate Student Council (president)
Faculty Advisor and Mentor: Rupa Valdez
Leadership Experience: “
Favorite Study Spot: Darden Court
Giovanna Camacho
Degree: Systems Engineering, Ph.D.
Making things better in the first place
Giovanna Camacho was a medical officer in the U.S. Army when she noticed something: A lot of injuries were caused not by weapons or enemies, but badly designed equipment and technology. She thought, “What if we could get ahead of the injuries? What if we could engineer things correctly for the end user so these injuries never happened?”
Humans can always adapt, but why should they when we can build it better in the first place?
She chose UVA Engineering because of its Link Lab, which provided collaborative, interdisciplinary research opportunities at UVA, Florida and Ireland, ultimately leading to the competitive Pathways Internship at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center.
Camacho is excited to continue her government service there after graduation as an aerospace engineer.
Awards and Activities: Academic Commitment to Excellence Fellowship 2022, Deans Scholar Fellowship 2022, National Science Foundation Research Traineeship Fellowship 2022, Laurel Clark Sea to Space Physiology Grant, Tillman Scholarship, GEM Fellowship, Jefferson Scholar; Link Lab; Madison House Casa Alma and Charlottesville Tulips, Lake Monticello Dive Rescue Team, public speaker, NASA Intern Lead, NASA Aero Fair STEM Teacher
Faculty Advisors, Mentors and People I’m Grateful to: Matthew Bolton, Amanda Watson, Ian Pitt, Henry Bearden, Sharon Lu, Angus Rupert, Allen Parker, Jonathan Lopez, Jacob Wilson, Joseph Loggi, Roger Cholewiak, Priya Date, Samuel J. Lake, Kelley Tobler, Jennifer Burman, Gabriel Lawrence, Gregory Gerling, Tariq Iqbal, Chantel Gross, Victor Camacho (my pops), Trevor Jahn, Hannah Carey, Abbu, Rajah, Apollo Camacho
Why Engineering? “I served as a medical officer in the Army and saw firsthand all of the injuries caused by equipment and technology not built effectively for the human end user. Serving in the medical field many times, you help people after their injuries, and some of [them] are still maimed for life. My thought was, what if we could get ahead of the injuries? What if we could engineer things correctly for the end user so these injuries never happened? Once this thought came to my mind, I could not turn away from the opportunity of wanting to prevent these injuries for soldiers and civilians alike.”
Why UVA Engineering? “Being a member of Link Lab was the No. 1 reason for being drawn to attend UVA — outside of finding my academic Yoda in my advisor, Dr. Matthew Bolton. I knew that having the ability to collaborate and network with not only my peers, but also faculty and staff in various fields, was exactly what I was looking for to enhance my education in engineering and help make a bigger impact in my research. This community has helped me to integrate myself into the civilian landscape and truly creates an environment where students walk in the door and can complete a 360 professionally with a huge shiny toolbelt you carry out into the world.”
What “Engineering for the Greater Good” Means: “The entire reason I’m engineering — to make things better for the end user! Humans can always adapt, but why should they when we can build it better in the first place?”
Taran Gupta
Major: Civil Engineering, Minor: Data Science
Civil engineer marching to his own drums
Taran Gupta’s first time on Grounds was UVA Band Day in 10th grade. He returned for Band Camp as a first-year engineering student, moving in a week early. It’s no surprise the Cavalier Marching Band has become a huge part of his UVA experience.
Making so much music with my best friends has pushed me creatively — an essential skill for engineering — and made me smile and laugh more times than I can count.
Despite a busy schedule as drum major for two bands and in other ensembles, Gupta found time to spend hundreds of hours as a teaching assistant, revamping course materials and helping students explore their interests.
He’ll return to UVA this fall to complete his accelerated master’s program in civil engineering after a summer internship as a civil field engineer with Mortenson Construction, which will take him to a wind farm construction project in Rawlins, Wyoming.
Faculty Advisors and Mentors: Steel Bridge Capstone Team, Ryan Henry, Jose Gomez, Lindsay Ivey Burden, Lisa Colosi Peterson
Awards and Activities: UVA Engineering Outstanding Student Award; teaching assistant, Introduction to Civil Engineering Techniques; Steel Bridge Capstone Team; Cavalier Marching Band (drum major); Wind Ensemble; Concert Band, Athletic Band; Clarinet Ensemble
Leadership Experience: “I have been a TA for the past two years and have spent hundreds of hours teaching, holding office hours and completely overhauling that semester project to make it more relevant and easy to follow. … I absolutely love teaching and giving back. I find it gratifying and a great way to push myself in ways I could never do on my own.”
Meaningful Involvement: “This past year, I was part of the Steel Bridge Capstone Team, where we competed at the Virginia ASCE Symposium and won third place! Not only did this increase my confidence in my design and fabrication ability, but it also brought me much closer with my entire civil engineering class. This is the second year UVA has participated in over a decade, and my team was able to build our bridge in just 19 minutes, 4 seconds — a remarkable improvement from last year, when the team unfortunately was disqualified from going over construction time.”
Life on Grounds Beyond Engineering: “The marching band has been particularly impactful to me. It was my first experience with UVA in more than one way — I came for UVA Band Day in 10th grade and also moved in a week early my first year for band camp. For the past two years, I have been one of five drum majors of the 250+ member Cavalier Marching Band, placing me in one of the “highest” student leadership roles on Grounds. Through this, I have directly shaped the experience of every single member, especially the 75 first-years in band. It is incredibly fulfilling to see how much everyone has grown throughout the year as marchers, musicians, students, leaders and friends. It reminds me why I choose to wake up every day and work towards creating (engineering) a better world.”
Favorite Study Spot: Civil Engineering Lounge in Olsson
Pratik Pandit
Majors: Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering
Questions unlock career path for talented electrical engineer
A lifelong curiosity about why things work the way they do drove Pratik Pandit to study engineering. He was especially interested in digital devices, which led him to electrical engineering.
For his capstone project, his team revived a deprecated robot used for teaching an embedded systems class at UVA, giving it a complete hardware and teaching methodology upgrade.
I’m very proud of my research with Professor Nikos [Sidiropoulos], as it is a foundational improvement to existing 5G technologies, especially under conditions of strong interference, and it excites me to be part of something that is so important.
After graduation, Pandit plans to work at CACI in Sterling as a digital signal processing engineer.
Awards and Activities: Tau Beta Pi (president); IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu (IEEE-HKN) honor society; teaching assistant, various undergraduate and graduate courses; National Collegiate Table Tennis Association team for UVA
Faculty Advisor and Mentor: Nikolaos Sidiropoulos
Leadership Experience: “My TA experience really helped me connect with students across different years, as well as different majors, thereby making meaningful connections in the engineering community.”
Life on Grounds Beyond Engineering: “I have been a part of the table tennis club at UVA for three years and on the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association teams. It has helped me find another community at UVA where I can spend time playing a sport that I love and meet likeminded people from engineering and other majors who share the same passion.”
Why Engineering? “I have always been curious. I wanted to know why things work the way they did instead of accepting them as a black box. This is what led me to electrical engineering because there are so many digital devices surrounding us today, and I wanted to know exactly how they worked.”
Favorite Study Spot: Rice Hall, top floor
Favorite Tradition/Event: ECE Capstone Demos
Joseph “Joey” Geno Zambotti Giordano
Major: Materials Engineering
Vibing on UVA’s Vibrant Learning Culture
Joey Giordano has had a blast getting involved at UVA. On the board of UVA’s chapter of Material Advantage, a national professional organization for materials engineers, he organized industry tours, congressional visit days and social events. He also competed on UVA’s Model United Nations travel team and helped run Model UN conferences at UVA.
UVA has a beautiful campus and people with diverse interests. If you’re interested in something, from STEM to linguistics to politics to anything else, there are people at UVA who will share that interest.
Giordano is excited to start his job at MPR Associates in Alexandria after graduation. The mid-sized technical consulting company focuses on nuclear power plant design and regulation.
Activities and Awards: Material Advantage (board), International Relations Organization, Model UN Travel Team
Faculty Advisor and Mentor: Claire Culver
Life on Grounds Beyond Engineering: “As a member of the International Relations Organization, I competed for the UVA Model United Nations travel team and helped run Model UN conferences here at UVA. It was always fun to learn about niche historical periods, put myself in the shoes of the leaders of that time, and negotiate solutions that took history in a different direction.”
Why Engineering? “I chose engineering because it mixed my interest for physics and math with my desire to design and build things in a practical way. I chose materials engineering because it is very close to science and impacts almost all types of engineering.”
Why UVA Engineering? “UVA has a beautiful campus and people with diverse interests. If you’re interested in something, from STEM to linguistics to politics to anything else, there are people at UVA that will share that interest.”
A Project I’m Proud Of: “I’ve made some really cool code. It would be boring to explain it here, but I think the code systems I’ve built show how coding is a creative process, not just a rote task.”
Memory: “The shock on my friends faces when I showed up to my last exam with a slide rule.”
What “Engineering for the Greater Good” Means: “It’s impossible to predict all of the societal impacts of something you design, but it’s irresponsible not to try.”
Favorite Study Spot: “The pavilion outside of Jesser Hall — great for people watching!”
Favorite Tradition/Event: Bodo’s on E-way and the Oktoberfest Garden Party!
Soumee Guha
Degree: Computer Engineering, Ph.D.
Visualizing care
A love of circuits and mathematics drew Soumee Guha to computer engineering. Today, her research helps doctors and scientists make accurate and efficient decisions by transforming raw visual data into meaningful insights.
Her Ph.D. studies have focused on developing image enhancement algorithms for ultrasound, satellite, sonar and other imaging modalities affected by a specific type of noise known as speckle.
There’s something profoundly satisfying about transforming mathematical concepts into algorithms that benefit people — for example, by improving health care outcomes.
Guha is pursuing postdoctoral research opportunities and plans to apply for tenure-track positions in the future.
Awards and Activities: Carlos and Esther Farrar Fellowship; Graduate Engineering Student Council (president)
Faculty Advisor and Mentor: Scott Acton
Memory: “Everything. It is impossible to choose one memory from an ocean of beautiful ones.”
Favorite Study Spot: Darden courtyard
Favorite Tradition/Event: “Christmas party at Firefly by ECE”
Samantha “Sam” Saks
Major: Civil Engineering
Community spirit, genuine support push E-Schooler to succeed
For Sam Saks, one visit was enough to know she wanted to study engineering at UVA. The sense of community was palpable, and the breadth of opportunities obvious.
With encouragement from faculty, Saks poured herself into everything UVA had to offer. She connected with other engineering students during a policy internship in Washington, D.C., and on the Engineering Student Council. She advocated for biodiversity on Grounds, took as many non-engineering classes as possible to explore varied interests and wrote for The Cavalier Daily.
That initial understanding of community and spirit proved true; E-Schoolers are collaborative and supportive and genuinely care about one another.
After graduation, Saks will work as a staff engineer at Langan Engineering & Environmental Services in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
Awards and Activities: UVA Engineering Class of 1986 Scholarship, Henry L. Kinnier Civil Engineering Department Scholarship, Louis T. Rader Chairperson Award in Civil Engineering, Engineering Student Council Excellence in Engineering Gala Honoree from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Policy Internship Program (2024 cohort), Extinction Club (president), The Cavalier Daily (life desk writer), Engineering Student Council (vice president), E-Guide, UVA Engineering delegate, U.S. Naval Academy Science and Engineering Conference, Tau Beta Pi Member, Virginia Alpha Chapter; student representative on the UVA Civil Engineering Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
Faculty Advisors and Mentors: Teresa Culver, Rider Foley
Meaningful Involvement: “In 2024, I was a member of the E-School’s Policy Internship Program. This group really became a sort of family for me during the summer, and I have remained close with them since. From attending panels with them to walking the National Mall, I formed important friendships during my PIP experience and found a subset of engineering students who also saw value in pursuing non-traditional career paths using engineering backgrounds.”
Life on Grounds Beyond Engineering: “I have made it a goal to take classes outside of engineering to explore the breadth of expertise that UVA has to offer, as I have interests in areas such as history and public policy. My time in the Extinction Club gave me insight into pursuing public advocacy to support proposed initiatives to make UVA a place that better supports biodiversity. My time as a staff writer allowed me to share opportunities to help students engage with the University and Charlottesville communities.”
Why UVA Engineering? “I chose UVA Engineering because of the sense of community I felt while visiting Grounds and because of the breadth of opportunities I knew I would be able to pursue. That initial understanding of community and spirit proved true; E-Schoolers are collaborative and supportive and genuinely care about one another. This doesn’t just take shape in the classroom; E-Schoolers build true camaraderie, as engineers but also as people. I have also found incredible support from UVA Engineering faculty.”
Favorite Study Spot: Olsson Hall student lounges
Favorite Tradition/Event: Wahoo Welcome
Coming Back, I’m Excited About: “Rekindling a sense of community and a ‘home away from home’ as I walk around Grounds and down E-Way.’
