Meet Victoria Reilly, a doctoral graduate in mechanical engineering from Johnston, Rhode Island, and this year’s student commencement speaker for the College of Engineering. Victoria’s path to engineering began with a love of math, science, and building things, inspired early on by her dad, a mechanical engineer. As an undergrad, she also pursued ballet at a high level, balancing rigorous coursework with intensive training and performances. After an injury shifted her plans to pursue ballet professionally, Victoria stayed at URI for graduate school, where she expanded her focus. She conducted research in the Dynamic Photo-Mechanics Laboratory on underwater implosion and fluid-structure interaction while also earning her MBA alongside her Ph.D. Beyond the lab, Victoria founded the URI Consulting Club—one of her proudest accomplishments at URI—creating opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience in business strategy and real-world problem solving. She was also involved in T...