Briana Dominguez’s journey from Baytown, Texas, to the cutting-edge field of chemical engineering began in the fifth grade with an “Introduce a Girl to Engineering” event at ExxonMobil. "I remember being amazed by the expanding foam demonstration; it left me stunned and filled with questions,” she says. “I wondered how it worked, what thought process led to the experiment, and what caused the reaction."

This curiosity eventually led her to Lamar University, where she is now a senior pursuing a double major in chemical engineering and mathematics. She’s fully embraced Lamar’s hands-on, industry-focused approach to learning, where she has not only developed her technical skills but also grown as a leader, serving as the Vice President of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers chapter.

Lamar’s proximity to major energy and petrochemical companies, as well as its well-established industry partnerships, made it all the easier for her to bridge theory and practice. Through internships with WestRock, a paper mill, and LyondellBasell’s Global Projects team, Dominguez could test her classroom knowledge in dynamic, high-stakes environments.

“I remember being assigned to calculate the pump head loss for a pump that had been out of service but was being reinstated,” she recalls. “The concepts I learned in class proved invaluable, and I even used my textbook as a reference to ensure I was applying the correct methods and factors.”