Class of 2024: Emily Gannon excels in her time as a Hokie

When Emily Gannon first applied to Virginia Tech, she wasn't accepted right away. She ended up on the wait list.

Now, four years later, she wishes she could stay a Hokie for eight more.

Gannon, a senior in the residential and environmental design program, was named the 2024 outstanding student in the Department of Apparel, Housing, and Resource Management.

She first learned about Virginia Tech while she was touring a different university her junior year of high school. She recalls eating dinner with her dad, and a couple approached them.

“They asked what I was looking for in a school,” Gannon said. “I said I wanted a place that would challenge me academically and give me the best four years of my life. I wanted a place that felt like home. They immediately told me to look at Virginia Tech.”

Gannon came to Blacksburg as a university studies major. She knew she was interested in architecture, interior design, and math, and she learned about the residential environments and design program through an interview she conducted for one of her classes. 

“We had to interview someone who worked in a field we are interested in,” she said. "My advisor, who taught the class, suggested I interview her daughter who was an alum of the residential environments and design program. I didn’t know the program existed, so when I interviewed her, I realized this major embodied all the areas I was interested in. So, my second semester, I joined the program.”

Gannon said the personal relationships she formed with her professors has been her favorite part of the program. 

“They want our program to succeed as much as we do,” Gannon said. “They want their students to perform well and become successful.”

Gannon credits the collaborative environment of the program to her success.

“Creating relationships with people that are more advanced in the design world and learning how to collaborate with them is vital, especially when it comes to physical designs and renderings," Gannon said.

When asked to describe her college experience in one word, she chose “whirlwind.”

“I feel like it went by so fast,” Gannon said. “My college experience has flown by so much faster than high school. I feel like I’ve been through so many personal eras and I’m finally settled. I’ve learned so many lessons and learned who I am.”

Gannon values all of her memories at Virginia Tech, especially the sporting events and her time as a Hokie Ambassador, for which she gave campus tours for prospective students.

“I’ve cherished every single moment I’ve had here,” she said, recalling her first football game, attending all four women’s March Madness basketball games, standing with friends in Cassell Guard, and giving tours to perspective students who came to Virginia Tech.