Bryana Vasquez

Bryana Vasquez is from Herndon, Virginia and is a senior in Biomedical Engineering, minoring in Green Engineering and Engineering Science and Mechanics, with a GPA of 3.52. She says the best thing about being a Virginia Tech engineering student is the constant challenging work that makes everyone use interdisciplinary skills and creativity to benefit society. When she was in middle school, she dreamt of being a physical therapist due to her interest in sports and enjoyment of new challenges every day. Now that she is at Virginia Tech she dreams about applying the knowledge she obtains at Virginia Tech to analyze the biomechanics of an athlete’s movement in order to pioneer sports performance and reduce their risk of injury. Bryana says that if she could change any one thing, she would change the way large corporations handle their efforts to fight climate change. She would like these businesses to take more action in altering their functional principles to move towards a sustainable future.

Bryana was actively involved with CEED Peer Mentoring her freshman year at Virginia Tech when she was a mentee. She says this program was a huge help for her to learn more about life as an engineering student. Additionally, she is currently volunteering for the Kevin P. Granata Biomechanics Lab where she has obtained critical experience with data processing using various biomechanical software. 

Bryana is also a member of Virginia Tech’s Club Field Hockey team. Being able to continue the sport brings her so much joy, and has provided her with a fun way to relieve stress. The program has allowed her to create lifelong friends and she encourages others to join any extracurricular opportunities they might be introduced to. In her free time, she enjoys hanging with her friends and exercising, especially by playing sports and hiking.

Bryana says one of her role models is her mom, who is also an enthusiastic engineer. As a Hispanic woman in the STEM field, she has always inspired and pushed Bryana to conquer the obstacles they face every day and break barriers in fields that may be seen as less obtainable. Bryana also mentioned she is the youngest of six children and also has two energetic Shnoodles named Jax and Dusty! Additionally, Bryana says her favorite cartoon character is Katara from Avatar because she is brave, level-headed, and passionate. Her favorite type of music is a mix of pop and EDM, and her favorite films are the Rocky Series.