Class of 2026: Hannah Petersen charts her own course in electrical engineering
Name: Hannah Petersen
College: College of Engineering
Major: Electrical Engineering
Hometown: Vienna, VA
Plans after graduation: Returning to Virginia Tech for graduate school for electrical engineering or cybersecurity
Favorite Virginia Tech memory: Joining the Consulting Group as a junior and discovering the intersection between business experience and engineering.
Hannah Petersen’s electrical engineering destiny was written in the stars. Her parents, both electrical engineers, met as interns at NASA.
“I really wanted to carve my own path; I was actually pre-med when I came to Virginia Tech,” said Petersen, the Outstanding Senior for the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). “I tried to get involved with cancer research, and the first thing they asked me was if I could program. And then I joined an aerospace research group — they asked me if I had experience with Arduinos!"
Petersen realized that whatever she was passionate about, she could find an electrical engineering connection. So, shortly after her first semester at Virginia Tech, she switched her major from biomedical engineering to electrical engineering, with a focus on energy and power systems.
Hannah Petersen in her ambassador role
The “say yes” attitude
Petersen is a popular face at Virginia Tech. She serves as both a College of Engineering Dean’s Team member and an ambassador for ECE, greeting hundreds of students and families every semester as they make the decision to become a Hokie.
“As an ambassador, I get to connect with so many different people,” Petersen said. “It’s really meaningful to be able to share my ECE experiences with people at different points in their lives.”
Petersen takes a broad approach to her out-of-classroom experiences, choosing to “say yes” to as much as possible.
She is a sustainable aerospace fuel undergraduate researcher through the Education-to-Engineering program sponsored by Pratt and Whitney. She has also conducted research with the Hume Center for National Security and Technology at Virginia Tech, focusing on radio frequency devices. In addition, she is an associate for the Consulting Group and has enjoyed two summer internships at Procter and Gamble.
No one journeys alone
Petersen’s built strong community support through her interdisciplinary activities, benefitting from the academic mentorship of Virginia Tech faculty, including Todd Lowe, a professor in the Kevin T. Crofton Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, and David Gray, collegiate assistant professor and assistant department head for undergraduate programs in Engineering Education.
“From the moment Hannah joined the E2E program, she exceeded every expectation,” said Lowe. “I can think of no other student with whom I have worked who has been near Hannah’s level for her combination of initiative, determination for education, career impact, technical creativity, and peer leadership.”
Throughout her time at Virginia Tech, Petersen has been supported by multiple academic scholarships, including the American Bureau of Shipping, Group 8, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Power and Energy Society, and Fralin Undergraduate Research Fellows.
“Virginia Tech has supported me in many ways,” she said. “I really appreciate all the people and communities that have made scholarships possible for me over the years so that I can pursue my education. It’s been amazing.”
