Alejandra Leija is in the driver’s seat when it comes to engineering studies

Growing up in Parlier, Alejandra Leija didn’t have many opportunities to get a taste of science or engineering courses.

That didn’t keep her from finding a path into a field that is woefully short of Latinas.

When she stepped into her first engineering class at Fresno State, she noticed something was astray.

“I remember feeling like I didn’t belong there because I wouldn’t see a lot of girls like me in the classes,” said Leija, a 2017 graduate of Parlier High. “I’m not going to let that get to me. There were a couple of times there when I asked myself, ‘Uh, do I belong here?”

Thanks to Latina engineers like Zoraida Martínez of Foster Farms, who is constantly reaching out to students through the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Leija was able to overcome those challenges.

“I always looked up to her just because she’s a Latina in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and she does so much for the community,” said Leija, 22.

The organization, she said, is “igniting Latinos to pursue STEM.”

“I’ve seen how empowering she is,” said Leija about Martínez.

It also didn’t hurt to hear stories about Ellen Ochoa, the first Latina in space (1993).

“As a kid, that was really cool,” she said. “She was one of those who really inspired me to go into STEM.”

Earned mechanical engineering degree with a 3.87 GPA

On May 16, Leija earned her bachelor’s in engineering and accepted the dean’s medal as the top undergraduate from the Lyle School of Engineering.

The first-generation student, Lyles Family Honors Scholarship recipient whose four years at Fresno State were covered, completed her bachelor’s in mechanical engineering with a 3.87 GPA.

At Parlier, she remembers taking science in elementary school for a year, and later having access to MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement) in middle school.

“That was the whole reason I got into engineering. It was the first time I had ever really heard of it,” said Leija.

The program ended after a couple of years, but the fire stayed lit for Leija.

“I still kept the mindset that that’s what I want to do,” she said.

Her problem now is figuring out what field to go into.

“I wanted to do biomedical engineering and work on medical devices, but in the past year I’ve been exposed to not only biomedical but aerospace and aviation; and, recently, STEM public policy,” she said.

Father is a truck driver, mom an elementary school principal

One thing is certain, she will not become a truck driver like her father, who is also a Fresno State graduate.

“Every single time he’d come home from work tired and he would just kind of look at us and be like ‘Go to school, get an education, do something that you’re going to love going to every day,’” said Leija.

That has always been on her mind.

“One day, as a kid, I went with him because they couldn’t find a babysitter,” said Leija.

While her father was driving, she stayed in the bed tucked inside the truck cab.

“I just stayed back there, and I’m like, ‘This is so boring,’” she said. “You have the radio on and you do this all day?”

Her mother, a Fresno State graduate, is an elementary school vice principal.

A phone call from her dean that delivered the news about the dean’s medalist caught her off guard.

“It took me some time for that to sink in,” she said. “I kind of sat back and reflected on my past four years. I was pretty shocked. It is really a huge honor.”

The COVID-19 pandemic forced Leija, like all other Fresno State students, to do online learning. Not having to drive to school and the hassle of finding parking was a blessing, but learning was more difficult, she said, “because I prefer being in class. I focus better.”

She wants to promote the STEM field to Latinas.

“We need representation in these areas,” she said. “You’re not going to get a diverse solution that impacts a lot of people. We’re never going to be able to create a solution that fits all because we all have different backgrounds.

“I want to be that representation, and I hope all other Latinos want to also do that.”