Joanna Haley

"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard."

Joanna Haley is from Stafford, Virginia, and is a sophomore in Industrial and Systems Engineering with a 3.55 GPA. She says the best thing about being a Virginia Tech Engineer is going to a college that takes engineering seriously and facilitates a community of engineers with like-mindedness to that of her own, and this has encouraged her career goals. Joanna has dreamt about becoming a Naval officer since middle school, and that has not changed since coming to Virginia Tech.

Joanna was a former cadet in the Corps of Cadets and a former midshipman, a part of NROTC her freshman year, so service was something constantly required. This year she is a member of the service learning committee of Hypatia. She also mentioned that she loves fishing with her father, and has been into ziplining and jet skiing recently.

Joanna’s role model is Beyonce. She has always admired her work ethic that facilitated her success, while also remaining humble. The movie, Avatar, is her favorite film. Her favorite cartoon character growing up was Kim Possible because on top of juggling school, cheerleading, and still having time to save the world amazed her.