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It's #EngineersWeek and we celebrate our members who are professional engineers. We are spotlighting the accomplishments, thoughts, and motivations of a few of those members who inspire us - including Arianna Valle, PE.

Arianna has been an engineer at Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in Arizona for 7.5 years and is a member of our WTS Phoenix-Metro Chapter. As a female in our industry, she serves as a great inspiration for future engineers. On a typical day in the office, you can find her attending a meeting with colleagues. When Arianna is not wearing her engineer hat, she is probably enjoying time with friends and family.

In honor of National Engineers Week, we asked Arianna a couple questions involving her career path:

What encouraged you to become an engineer?

In high school, I had the opportunity to shadow a Civil Engineer (who looked like me) from a local engineering firm. The time I spent with her provided a chance to create an internship as a CAD technician. The shadowing opportunity and the internship encouraged me to become an engineer and helped shape what my undergraduate degree ultimately became.

Who and/or what is your biggest motivation?

My parents. I am first generation Mexican American and the first to finish college. Their continuous hard work was my inspiration to pursue higher education.

What is your favorite project that you’ve worked on?

In 2019, I had the opportunity to support FEMA recovery efforts in Puerto Rico working as an ESF-1 (Emergency Support Function #1 – Transportation) in Branch II for two separate 3-week assignments.

What advice do you have for engineers just graduating / starting out in the industry?

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Apply for your dream job and get to know people in your field of study. Networking at organizations like WTS can open doors you didn’t realize were even possible.

If you weren’t an engineer, what would you be?

I never really considered becoming anything else. However, if I were to guess, I would be working in the field of mathematics and/or statistics.