Riya is majoring in Mechanical Engineering with minors in Computer Science and Sustainability. She loves that Mechanical Engineering gives her the freedom to work in many different areas and is interested in working in robotics or sustainability in the future.
Life at UIUC
Favorites: Riya’s favorite thing about UIUC is the people. From the staff and faculty to her classmates and peers, she knows that she has an amazing community of support that she can rely on at Illinois.
Why she chose UIUC: After seeing all the different resources and labs on campus, including the Mechanical Engineering Innovation Studio, she knew that UIUC really fit with what she wanted in a college.
Student Organizations
American Society of Mechanical Engineers – member of competition committee
Society of Women Engineers – team teach project lead
Zindaa Bollywood dance team member
Extracurriculars
Riya worked on research in a non-Newtonian physics lab on campus. She also has an off-campus job where she teaches kids how to code and will be an Engineering Learning Assistant for Engineering 100 in the upcoming fall 2021 semester. She also has an operations internship with ITW this upcoming summer!
After Graduation
While Riya is still exploring her options, she knows that she wants to work in industry and eventually plans to take on a higher leadership role within a company.
Being a Woman in STEM
Riya says that WIE was one of the starting points for many of the opportunities she’s involved with on campus. Through her involvement with WIE and the GFX Global Sustainability Scholars cohort, she was able to build a community of women in engineering and found many other opportunities to get involved with.
Advice to Freshmen
Riya’s advice is to be open minded and to not just stick to one plan. She says that things are undoubtedly going to change, but when they do, embrace that change because that’s what will open up your best college experience.
