Athena Efthymiou, Class of 2027

Hometown: Long Island, New York

Major: Mechanical Engineering

Role: Survey team member, 2025 travel team

Career goal: Working in a field that gives back through sustainability or infrastructure

Memorable moment/quote: The mantra of the Q’ero Nation in Chua Chua — “Today for me, tomorrow for you.”

William Franznick, Class of 2026

Hometown: Middletown, New Jersey

Major: Environmental Engineering

Role: Stevens EWB-USA chapter president; fundraising chair, land surveyor, data collector, 2024 travel team; construction lead, 2025 travel team

Career Goal: Environmental engineering consultant

Memorable moment/quote: “Projects such as EWB create opportunities for people to come together in incredible ways to build extraordinary things.”

Brandon Gilman, Class of 2027

Hometown: Belchertown, Massachusetts

Major: Quantitative Finance

Roles: Survey team member, health and safety officer, fundraising chair, 2025 travel team

Career Goal: Global finance, using markets and policy to drive sustainable development and financial inclusion

Memorable moment/quote: From Chua Chua guide Ruben Apaza Quispe: “What I want is teaching to the next generation how important is our culture, how important is our life for other cultures.”

Savannah Isacson, Class of 2027

Hometown: Neptune, New Jersey

Major: Mechanical Engineering

Role: Project lead and project development co-chair, 2025 travel team

Career Goal: Designing prosthetic devices

Memorable moment/quote: “... when the (Chua Chua) kids were drawing pictures of us in my notebook, and when the engineers were using the drawings I had made to scope out our project layout.”

Ben Knobloch ’25

Hometown: Middletown, New Jersey

Degree: Bachelor of Engineering, Software Engineering

Role: Past Stevens EWB-USA vice president and secretary; survey team member, photographer, 2024 travel team

Career goal: Studying for master’s in computer science, Cornell University; to work in AI/machine learning research and software development

Memorable moment/quote: Being most struck by Chua Chua’s isolation and beauty, “at 15,000 feet up, it’s like we’re at the ceiling of the world. It feels hard not to be connected to something greater than yourself.”

Viktoria Matysiak, Class of 2027

Hometown: Richmond, Virginia

Major: Chemical Engineering

Role: Health and safety officer, survey team member, 2025 travel team

Career Goal: Developing renewable energy methods and discovering ways to make chemical processes more sustainable

Memorable moment/quote: “My favorite memory from the trip was the sheer beauty of the landscape in Chua Chua and Peru as a whole, and I’ll never forget how unbelievable the night sky looked from the community.”

Vincent Menichelli, Class of 2026

Hometown: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Major: Environmental Engineering

Role: Project development co-chair; project lead, 2024 travel team

Career Goal: Research water treatment methods for forever chemicals

Memorable moment/quote: Watching the student team’s development with the project

Mikayla Minton, Class of 2027

Hometown: Long Island, New York

Major: Computer Engineering

Role: Stevens EWB-USA chapter vice president; planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning lead, 2025 travel team

Career goal: Developing technologies that support humanitarian initiatives

Memorable moment/quote: “Sitting by the fire with the community, sharing stories beneath the most stunning sky.”

Meghan Slate ’25

Hometown: Woodstock, Connecticut

Degree: Bachelor of Science, Business and Technology

Role: Health and safety officer, survey and documentation teams member, 2024 travel team

Career goal: Financial analyst in corporate finance

Memorable moment/quote: Singing around the campfire with members of the Chua Chua community and travel team

Cole Spitzner ’25 M.Eng. ’25

Hometown: Basking Ridge, New Jersey

Degree: Bachelor of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering; Master of Engineering, Systems Engineering

Role: Past Stevens EWB-USA president; planning, monitoring, evaluating and learning team, lead interviewer, 2024 travel team

Memorable moment/quote: “I had the chance to use my Spanish both in project interviews with the community and in conversations with our guide, Elisa, where we talked about the community’s situation and her life story.”