Alexie Jean Jacques has moved a lot in her life. She is originally from the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia and moved to the United States at age 13 in pursuit of a better education. She attended four different high schools in four different states so she had a goal to make her college experience somewhere that felt like home. “Virginia Tech has school pride like no other which fosters what I would consider home: a sense of unity,” she said.
Civil engineering grabbed her interest because she enjoys mathematics and problem solving, while also having the opportunity to help others. “Meeting the needs of others and improving the quality of life by designing and constructing infrastructure is a combination of my two interests in problem solving and helping others,” she noted.
Alexie serves as a student ambassador for the civil and environmental engineering department, which allows her the opportunity to engage in outreach with prospective students and serve as a representative of the department. She was also a Virginia Tech Global Citizen and traveled to Rwanda, Africa for a study abroad trip involving the design and implementation of a water sanitation system involving a bio-sand filter. She wants to continue that humanitarian work by working on construction projects in underprivileged communities, including the school buildings in her hometown of Saint Lucia.