Gabriella Taverna moved around a lot before settling at Texas State to get her degree in Electrical Engineering. Born in New Orleans, Gabriella and her family evacuated because of Katrina and headed to Oklahoma. Eventually, they settled in Houston as her dad worked as an engineer in the oil industry.

“I grew up knowing places are always temporary,” Gabriella said.

Gabriella said her grandparents are her biggest influence. Her grandpa was an English professor and always pushed her to read the news and have an open mind.

In high school, Gabriella babysat nearly every day. She earned her International Baccalaureate diploma, which prepared her for rigorous college classes. She applied to colleges all over the country but chose Texas State.

“I really liked Texas State because it wasn’t too far from Houston,” Gabriella said.

Gabriella is now a sophomore involved in the science group, H-LSAMP, where she does research in machine learning. Right now, she’s working on a softwares that helps children with Autism Spectrum Disorder recognize emotions. Over the summer, she’s going to continue her machine learning research at another university.

In addition, Gabriella is a part of the Stelos Scholars cohort where she’ll get to travel to NYC this summer and work on sustainability projects.

“I’m really excited for our upcoming trip,” Gabriella said.

After Gabriella earns her Electrical Engineering degree and International Studies minor, she either wants to become an engineer or go to grad school. Eventually, she wants to get her PhD.

Student Spotlight: Gabriella Taverna