Tucson Standard

Ilana Valenzuela has eagerly awaited her chance to pursue a University of Arizona education. So much so that she took every opportunity to start early, earning college credit in high school and in the university's Engineering Blast Off summer program.

"The problem with me is that I want to learn everything," said the incoming College of Engineering and W.A. Franke Honors College student. "I genuinely wish there was infinite time to take every class and learn everything about every field of science."

The affinity began with coding robots in the fifth grade. That first exposure to engineering convinced her the field was a fit. Valenzuela's appreciation grew as she learned advanced math and physics.

"Oh, my goodness, I love math. It's that sort of deeper-level thinking that really just rocks your entire world," she said.

At Catalina Foothills High School in Tucson, Valenzuela took three years of engineering with teacher Bryan Reyes, culminating in the College of Engineering's Engineering 102 High School course. The dual-credit course, taught in more than 30 Arizona and California schools, gives students an early start on their U of A engineering degrees. Valenzuela appreciated her teacher and classmates, most of whom remained the same throughout the three years: "That was the first time I got to talk to people I knew were serious about engineering."

Valenzuela earned recognition as a National Hispanic Scholar from the College Board prior to graduation and received the university's Thomas R. Brown Distinguished Scholarship for academic excellence. Even though her interests are varied, she has narrowed her focus to aerospace and mechanical engineering and plans to pursue an accelerated master's degree immediately after completing her bachelor's degree. The university's close ties to NASA influenced her choosing the U of A.

"It's my absolute dream job to work at NASA, as an engineer on the Artemis missions," she said, adding that she would love to do research or help design ships, rovers or systems astronauts use. The Artemis mission plans to put the first woman and person of color on the moon.

Joining a community

Valenzuela is no stranger to campus. Her parents are alumni who work for the university – her mom for Banner Health and the College of Medicine – Tucson and her dad with the University of Arizona Police Department. The family expects Valenzuela's 16-year-old brother and 15-year-old sister will follow her to the U of A.

Valenzuela has fond memories of visiting campus and attending sporting events, the Tucson Festival of Books and Spring Fling. Now, she looks forward to new experiences as she settles into the Cambium STEM Scholars Community, a housing environment in the Honors Village dorm that provides academic resources and networking opportunities for science-focused honors students.

"As soon as I heard about it, I said, 'Sign me up – now,'" she said.

A foundation to build upon

The College of Engineering's recent six-week Engineering Blast Off summer program helped prepare Valenzuela for the college's undergraduate design focus. The partnership between the college and the university's New Start program allows engineering students to begin classes early.

Students complete collaborative projects and present their work to a group of judges at the New Start Academic Conference. Many of these judges are New Start alumni. Valenzuela's group designed a fire prevention device that plugs into an electrical outlet or circuit and prevents a fire in case of a spark or other hazard. The idea impressed a judge who encouraged them to connect with a STEM adviser at Tech Launch Arizona, the university's technology commercialization arm.

After doing so, Valenzuela is eager to develop this invention further and eventually explore forming a startup.

"If I were able to take the project I started at Blast Off and continue it throughout my engineering career and apply everything I'm going to learn to that project, that would be amazing," Valenzuela said.