Class of 2026: Jordan Walker studies water systems to serve communities

Name: Jordan Walker

College: College of Engineering

Majors: Civil and environmental engineering

Hometown: Lynchburg

Plans after graduation: Interning at Timmons Group in Richmond as a water/wastewater engineer and then continuing his education with an accelerated master’s degree from Virginia Tech’s environmental and water resources program

Favorite Hokie memory: “When the Virginia Tech men’s basketball team took down 14th-ranked UVA at Cassell in 2023. Rushing the court and celebrating with everyone is a core memory for me.” 

Leading by example

For Walker, mentorship isn’t something he learned — it’s something he’s always lived. As the oldest of four, he grew up coaching his younger siblings through homework challenges and helping them pick out classes.

“My strongest source of guidance to my siblings comes from leading by example,” Walker said. “I often evaluate carefully how I proceed in situations because I know my siblings’ eyes are on me. Being a great role model means everything to me.”

At Virginia Tech, he’s set a high standard for anyone looking to follow his example. Walker was named the College of Engineering’s Outstanding Senior for the Class of 2026, an award that honors both his academic excellence and his college experience built around helping others.

A civil and environmental engineering ambassador and a teaching assistant for the Water Resources class, Walker spent four semesters in the Undergraduate Student Senate. “I learned how to use my voice and serve others,” he said. “It allowed me to build relationships across campus and make a broader impact.”

He also became a mentor with Beacon of Hope, a nonprofit organization in Lynchburg, where he helped high school students navigate their paths to higher education through career exploration and job shadowing.

“It is important to me to mentor and guide others because doing so can be the difference between someone pursuing their goals or giving up,” Walker said. “For me personally, seeing people come from the same area as me has made my own dreams feel more achievable. I want to provide that for others.” 

Drafting a future in water resources

Walker’s path to engineering started with uncertainty and a bit of trial and error.

“I knew I really wanted to go to college, but I had no idea what I wanted to do,” Walker said.

During his senior year of high school, a drafting class focused on technical drawing sparked his interest in design. After he won a local drafting competition, his teacher encouraged him to explore civil engineering. Walker agreed to look into it — at least in theory.

“I did not look into it,” he admitted.

Instead, he turned to a more modern strategy by taking online “find your major” quizzes. After four quizzes recommended civil and environmental engineering, he finally decided that his high school teacher might be right.

That decision led him to Virginia Tech.

“I remember during my Virginia Tech on-site admission event, a student on the panel spoke very highly of his experience in civil engineering,” Walker said. “That, along with the program’s reputation and being close to home, made it a no-brainer, even coming from a family of UVA fans.”

Designing for resilience

What began as a practical choice soon became a passion. Walker found his flow in water resources engineering, where his coursework and research has focused on understanding how water systems respond to both natural forces and human influence.

“I wrote a paper for my graduate hydrology class that explored the socioeconomic effects of extreme hydrologic events,” Walker said. “It highlighted how major storms can disproportionately impact different communities.”

For his senior design project, Walker is modeling how land-use changes and climate variability could reshape watershed behavior in the future. He finds passion in blending engineering precision with real-world relevance.

“The opportunity to work directly with one of the fundamental needs of human society excites me,” he said. “As a water resources engineer, you can help communities at both small and large scales. Many of the designs I’ll work on will impact people long after my time.”

A community that shaped him

Walker’s focus on academics earned him a 3.8 GPA, a spot on the dean’s list every semester, and multiple scholarships, including the Walter M. Duncan ’51, Maryruth Y. Duncan, and Frank R. Turner ’72 Civil Engineering Scholarship.

And he’s not done yet. This fall, he’ll continue his education in environmental water resources with Virginia Tech’s accelerated master’s degree program.

“The opportunity to keep learning and dive deeper into my discipline really excited me,” he said. “I liked the flexibility to explore courses in all areas of civil and environmental engineering but focus further on the one that interested me. It’s like a built-in trial period. You get to start early, explore graduate-level work, and it even helps reduce the overall cost. It made the decision much easier.”

With his Fundamentals of Engineering exam already completed and graduate coursework underway, he’ll spend the summer in Richmond as an intern at Timmons Group, where he will do civil engineering survey and site design, specifically in stormwater design that will benefit from his graduate studies.

“It allows me to better understand the ‘why’ behind the methods we use in practice,” he said. “That deeper knowledge will help me succeed as an engineer and make me more competitive in the field.”

A meaningful recognition

Being named Outstanding Senior is a moment of affirmation for Walker.

“On a personal level, it reassures me that the choices I’ve made, even in moments of uncertainty, were the right ones,” he said. “It shows that the long hours and effort have meant something.”

As Walker prepares to graduate, he knows others are still watching, just as his siblings once did. His commitment to building water systems that protect and uplift communities for generations to come means he’ll continue to lead by example.