Class of 2024: Natalia Ayala-Torres builds a brighter future for Hokie engineers
The construction engineering and management student uses leadership roles to propel her into the construction industry.
Name: Natalia Ayala-Torres
College: College of Engineering
Major: Construction Engineering and Management
Hometown: Woodbridge, VA
Plans after graduation: Working with W.M. Jordan Company as an Assistant Project Estimator in Richmond
Favorite Virginia Tech memory: Meeting people in her dorm for the first time after spending the summer before college on Zoom calls and in group text chats with everyone
Natalia Ayala-Torres is leaving Virginia Tech in a very different place than she entered – surrounded by a community she intentionally created and preparing to move to a city for a career and company she loves. The construction engineering and management student found her future path through one simple mindset. Coming into college in 2020, she put in the work to meet new people. Through that effort, Ayala-Torres is walking away with a laundry list of accomplishments: external philanthropy chair of Alpha Omega Epsilon, a sorority for women in engineering and technical science, test proctor for Services for Students with Disabilities, and an array of roles within the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity (CEED).
As Ayala-Torres prepares to step into her next phase of life, she’s grateful for the opportunities that allowed her to find a career and company that will lay the foundation for her future.
Planting the CEED of innovation
Since CEED’s founding more than 30 years ago, thousands of under-represented students have come to Virginia Tech through middle and high school programming. The engineering experience has brought many of those same students back to Virginia Tech, including Ayala-Torres.
As a student, she has dedicated much of her time to giving back to the same program that introduced her to the opportunities in the College of Engineering. Starting as an office assistant at CEED, she went on to recruit prospective students, provide peer mentorship for first-year students, and serve as the communications director for several programs within CEED.
Sprouting new skills
Building upon her CEED experiences, Ayala-Torres continued her passion for inspiring the next generation of Hokie engineers by acting as the student program coordinator for Pathways for Future Engineers, one of the group’s summer camps. As she stepped into a role as a leader, she helped coordinate hands-on activities for hundreds of K-12 students, answer questions from program leaders, and build interest across engineering disciplines, including touting her own love of construction.
“Natalia was an integral part of the student staff at CEED,” said Perry Martin, Assistant Director of Student Programs. “Throughout her time in CEED, she was a friendly and encouraging presence in the office always quick with a smile and encouraging words. She truly led by example as she was committed to her own success while having a consistent concern for helping her peers.”
Putting down roots
On top of her work with CEED’s summer camps, Ayala-Torres spent her summers learning more about the construction industry and the types of opportunities within it. Working with three different companies in three different cities, her most recent experience with W.M. Jordan felt like finding a new home. As she explored the city of Richmond, she found her new work family in a community of Hokies, complete with Fun Shirt Fridays, where Hawaiian shirts are expected attire, and a Virginia Tech bench outside of the Richmond office building.
Her industry experiences were possible thanks to the Myers-Lawson School of Construction’s career fairs, something she encourages her fellow classmates to take advantage of.
“Internships taught me that there’s always something new to learn in construction," said Ayala-Torres. "You’re constantly solving problems and collaborating with others, and that’s what makes this field so exciting.”
