Meet The Via Scholars
The Via Scholarships are made possible through the generosity of the late Mrs. Marion Bradley Via of Roanoke, Virginia, and her family. In 1987, Mrs. Via contributed $5 million each to the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering. Virginia Tech’s Board of Visitors subsequently named the ECE department in honor of Mrs. Via’s deceased father, Harry Lynde Bradley, and the CEE department in honor of her late husband, Charles E. Via, Jr. Mrs. Via died in 1993.
Both departments use a portion of the endowment to award scholarships to qualifying students. These scholarships are among the most competitive in the country. Since the Via endowment was created in 1987, the department has received more than $20 million in support.
We are proud to acknowledge that this is the 34th year of the Via endowment and the Via Report. We want to take this opportunity to recognize the current Via scholars as well as alumni that have come through the program for the last 33 years and continue to fulfill the mission set by the Via family.
Sai Ashraya Chegu
Hometown: Monroe Township, New Jersey
Career Goals: One of my main career goals is to be able to work at superfund sites working on water pollution remediation. However, my main overall goal is simply to do something environmental-related, whether that means working on renewable energy or water pollution issues.
Andrew Donaldson
Hometown: Midlothian, Virginia
Career Goals: I hope to work on complex and innovative construction projects that make a positive impact on my community. I aim to earn my PE and eventually start my own company with a focus on solutions to complex construction engineering problems.
Aaron Joshua Gitelman
Hometown: New Hyde Park, New York
Career Goals: Secure a full time construction job as a superintendent in New York City after graduation and possibly return for a master’s degree after a couple of years in the industry. Ultimately, my goal is to become a professor of construction engineering at Virginia Tech.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Elizabeth Beyer
Hometown: Durham, North Carolina
Location of Undergraduate Studies: North Carolina State University
Career Goals: After earning my M.S., I plan to continue mygraduate studies by pursuing a Ph.D. I aim to work in a waterresources policy position in the future so I can help solvecomplex water issues around the world.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Emme Bina
Hometown: Wichita, Kansas
Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of Kansas
Career Goals: After graduate school, I plan to work for anon-profit organization aimed at helping communities facingwater insecurity.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Megan Blumenauer
Hometown: Middletown, Maryland
Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of Maryland, College Park
Career Goals: After earning my M.S, I want to continueresearch on the provisioning of ecosystem services toenhance human health and well-being. I hope to work in thepublic sector, leveraging engineering and social sciences toimprove social quality by working with policy makers.
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS
Mason Brown
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
Location of Undergraduate Studies: The United States Air Force Academy
Career Goals: To teach at the United States Air Force Academy as a Captain in the Air Force, and to make civil engineering practices in the Air Force more sustainable. Upon completion of Military Service, I would like to get into city planning to improve public transit, walkability, and building codes to make cities both more livable and sustainable.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Joanna Capone
Hometown: Cranford, New Jersey
Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Tech
Career Goals: My master’s research has inspired me to continue research after graduation, whether at a national lab, consulting firm, or continuing in a doctoral program. I hope to investigate how policymakers can manage water allocations and develop cities in a way that conserves resources for the environment and future generations.
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
Phillip Crispell
Hometown: Ellicott City, Maryland
Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Tech
Career Goals: After completion of my graduate studies, I plan to begin working at a geotechnical design or design-build firm focusing on the design of deep foundations and solutions to geological hazards. During the start of my career, I plan to work towards obtaining my professional engineering license and gain valuable experience that will further my career.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Madeline Deck
Hometown: Blacksburg, Virginia
Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Tech
Career Goals: I strive to help empower the public with the knowledge required to improve their drinking water quality either through consulting or new policy creation and implementation.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Alexandra Dibernardi
Hometown: Manasquan, New Jersey
Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Tech
Career Goals: My goal is to work for the New York City government to research and address various environmental issues, like air pollution associated with the growing population or the storms that flood the subways and roadways. I hope to prepare cities for the challenges we expect to face in our future, while mitigating those we currently experience.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Jad El-Rafey
Hometown: Reston, Virginia
Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Tech
Career Goals: After completing my graduate studies, I hope to continue my education and pursue a PhD or travel abroad and gain experience in industry.
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
Erika Gallus
Hometown: Rathdrum, Idaho
Location of Undergraduate Studies: United States Air Force Academy
Career Goals: After earning my MS, I will be heading to pilot training to fly helicopters for the Air Force. Post Air Force career, I hope to pursue geotechnical engineering in some capacity.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Caitlyn Harris
Hometown: Midlothian, Texas
Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of Texas at Austin
Career Goals: Upon completing my M.S. degree, I hope to pursue a career as a wastewater treatment process engineer or a design consultant with a focus in resource recovery and reclamation, solids handling, and energy.
TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE AND SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
Andrew Joseph
Hometown: McLean, Virginia
Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Tech
Career Goals: After finishing my M.S., I plan to work for a civil engineering consulting firm focusing on rail and transit projects as I work toward earning my professional engineer's license. Long term, I would love to serve as the general manager of a major metropolitan area's public transit system and retire to Blacksburg to reprise my role as a bus operator at Blacksburg Transit.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Amelia Ketelhohn
Hometown: Cedarburg, Wisconsin
Location of Undergraduate Studies: Marquette University
Career Goals: After completing my M.S., I hope to obtain my professional engineering license and work in the industry or government agency. I am interested in water, ranging from the accessibility of safe drinking water to discovering and mitigating contaminants in wastewater.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Jack Mays
Hometown: Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of South Florida
Career Goals: After obtaining an M.S., I hope to work towards a PhD on a structural engineering topic. I also hope to obtain my PE and work in structural engineering.
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS
Henry McKlin
Hometown: Decatur, Georgia
Location of Undergraduate Studies: The University of Alabama
Career Goals: After earning an M.S., I plan to pursue a career as a structural engineer with a strong emphasis on sustainable design. I hope to design and preserve structures for future generations while lowering the carbon footprint of the civil industry.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Jonathan Moore
Hometown: Fairfax, Virginia
Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Tech
Career Goals: After earning my M.S., I want to continue learning about the physics of coastal environments and sediment mechanics so that I can be a resource to coastal communities. To accomplish that goal, I plan to earn a Ph.D.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Kaitlyn Parker
Hometown: Gloucester, Virginia
Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of Mary Washington
Career Goals: After earning my M.S., I plan to pursue a career in monitoring and preserving drinking water supply integrity while helping build trust between consumers and providers.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Megan Schantz
Hometown: Charlottesville, Virginia
Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Tech
Career Goals: After my completing my M.S., I would like to work for a consulting firm performing groundwater monitoring, contamination investigations, and remediation.
TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE AND SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
John Stern
Hometown: Hershey, Pennsylvania
Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Tech
Career Goals: After graduating with my M.S., I would like to contribute to the nation's transportation infrastructure with a focus on traffic engineering in either the private or public sector. I also intend to become a professional engineer.
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS
Iliana Walters
Hometown: Fredericksburg, Virginia
Location of Undergraduate Studies: Lehigh University
Career Goals: My goal after completion of my M.S. is to work in industry in protective design or forensic engineering while working toward obtaining my professional engineering license.
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS
Ann Albright
Hometown: Louisville, Colorado
Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of Washington, Seattle
Career Goals: Innovating novel structural engineering designs and methodologies is critical for improving our infrastructure - both for sustainability and longevity. I hope to continue with research in reinforced concrete, retrofitting existing structures to improve performance under earthquake loads, simultaneously pursuing a teaching career to interact with the newest generation of civil engineers.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Megan Beever
Hometown: Stratham, New Hampshire
Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Tech
Career Goals: I hope to continue my research in academia or the federal government after graduating.
Nick Brilli
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS
Thomas Carnes
Hometown: Lake Milton, Ohio
Location of Undergraduate Studies: Youngstown State University
Career Goals: After graduating, I hope to continue in academia as professor. As a professor, I would like to positively impact the civil engineering community by furthering the understanding of structural engineering through research and teaching future generations of civil engineering.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Amanda Darling
Hometown: Aurora, Illinois
Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Career Goals: After earning my degree, I hope to pursue research opportunities applying technologies for sustainable development of water infrastructure, including systems for wastewater treatment and water supply.
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
Fred Falcone
Hometown: Pembroke, Massachusetts
Location of Undergraduate Studies: Wentworth Institute of Technology
Career Goals: After completing my Ph.D., I want to continue work in research. My plan is to either continue in academia and work as a professor or to work for a research facility.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Megan Harris
Hometown: San Antonio, Texas
Location of Undergraduate Studies: The University of Texas at Austin
Career Goals: I aim to harness my modeling expertise to shape governmental policies, working on international projects that drive sustainable change in infrastructure and environmental practices.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Steven Hoagland
Hometown: Lexington, Kentucky
Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of Kentucky
Career Goals: I would like to perform research and help educate young engineers as a university faculty member.
CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT
Joseph James
Hometown: Columbia, South Carolina
Location of Undergraduate Studies: Clemson University
Career Goals: I want to excel in teaching students, conducting research related to creating societal change, collaborating with other faculty members, receiving grants, and creating a pathway for future black engineers to feel welcome and know that they can achieve any level of greatness.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Krystin Kadonsky
Hometown: Clearwater, Florida
Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of South Florida
Career Goals: My main goal in my career is to help others, and Virginia Tech has provided my the opportunity to focus my expertise on pathogens in drinking water and wastewater. Throughout my career after graduation, I would like to provide mentorship to younger aspiring engineers, and help solve public health crises for communities in need. I would also like to write my own version of “Kitchen Confidential” one day, perhaps after I’m retired.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Alexandra Longest
Hometown: Oakland, Maryland
Location of Undergraduate Studies: Bucknell University
Career Goals: After earning my doctorate, I would like to work at a national laboratory to continue to pursue research into issues concerning public health and the air.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Clayton Markham
Hometown: Syracuse, New York
Location of Undergraduate Studies: University at Buffalo
Career Goals: I would like to be a professor of environmental engineering concomitantly performing cutting-edge research and educating the next generation of environmental engineers to protect both planet and people.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Frank Mazzola
Hometown: Sterling, Virginia
Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Tech
Career Goals: I hope to continue researching problems in drinking water systems and developing solutions to help communities receive safe water. I aspire to teach the next generation of environmental engineering students.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Lilian McIntosh
Hometown: Abilene, Texas
Location of Undergraduate Studies: Abilene Christian University
Career Goals: Upon completing my degree, I plan to pursue consulting as a wastewater treatment process engineer. My goal is to help communities on the municipal scale to have access to sustainable wastewater treatment. Later in my career journey, I hope to become a professor in an effort to lead future generations of rising engineers.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Tolulope Odimayomi
Hometown: Westfield, Indiana
Location of Undergraduate Studies: Purdue University
Career Goals: I plan to pursue a career in academia centered around conducting community focused research on water quality and sustainability in the built environmental to protect public health. I hope to address modern environmental concerns and equip the next generation of engineering professionals to do the same.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Mia Riddley
Hometown: Byram, Mississippi
Location of Undergraduate Studies: Iowa State University
Career Goals: I want to pursue research opportunities within academia and government agencies that address environmental sustainability, ecosystem health, and environmental justice.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Fernando Roman
Hometown: Monteray, California
Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of California, Merced
Career Goals: After graduating from Virginia Tech, I would like to work as a drinking water/wastewater treatment plant designer, operator, and lab technician. I also hope to publish a collection of poems along the way.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Benjamin Roston
Hometown: Newport News, Virginia
Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Tech
Career Goals: I hope to explore opportunities in flood hazard management to improve the safety, welfare, and well being of communities impacting my hazardous floodplains and coastal zones. I look forward to exploring new perspectives on the relationships between water and society throughout the master’s program and my future career.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Caroline Sear
Hometown: Libertyville, Illinois
Location of Undergraduate Studies: Saint Louis University
Career Goals: I plan to use what I have learned through classes and research to combat novel environmental issues in water quality and availability, either through continued research and development, non-profit work, or in a government position.