Meet Texas A&M-Galveston Cadet Emilia Sosa
The sophomore marine engineering technology major reflects on her journey to campus; college experience.
Emilia Sosa ’28 has always wanted to be an engineer. Her mother, an engineer herself, inspired Sosa and fostered her aspirations for engineering, but Sosa wasn’t sure about having an office job. She likes to be hands-on and was worried that traditional engineering jobs wouldn’t be fulfilling.
During Sosa’s first visit to campus, she met Vanicha McQueen, associate professor of the practice, assistant department head for the Department of Marine Engineering Technology and chief engineer, who shared details about the marine engineering technology program. Although Sosa was interested in the program, which offers the option of pursuing a civilian Coast Guard license, she wasn’t sure which path to take. When McQueen told Sosa that, before teaching, she worked six months out of the year and traveled the rest – thanks to her license – Sosa was sold.
Sosa, who finished her first Summer Sea Term in late July, said that the experience was extremely valuable.
“It’s nice being able apply what we learned in the classroom on an actual ship,” Sosa said. “There was a specific challenge that we learned about in class, so when it happened on the ship, I was actually kind of excited. Since this was my first sea term, there was a lot I hadn’t experienced yet, so being able to say, ‘I know what this is’ was really cool.”
Sosa is highly involved on campus, as the treasurer for Women on the Water, the Student Government Association representative for marine engineering technology and as a squad leader for Echo 1. She is a dedicated violist and is actively working to restart the campus orchestra. Her involvement extends to the community, where she joined the University of Texas Medical Branch’s orchestra for their spring concert to stand in for a missing viola part. The organization asked her to continue with them this fall.
Sosa has also been interested in robotics since grade school, most recently participating in the ABS SMART Competition on campus in spring 2025, with her team, Storm Reapers, winning the “ART in SMART – Aesthetics and Innovation” award.
For now, Sosa’s long-term goal is to sail for at least five years after graduation, and maybe work on offshore oil rigs, which her mother designs. She eventually wants to move ashore to work with subsea robotics like uncrewed surface vessels or remotely operated vehicles. However, she says she’s keeping her mind open.
Taylor Bounds
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