Please share your name, major, and graduation year.

Annika Mattson, Mechanical Engineering, 2026.

Share one of your favorite Grand Valley memories.

Finishing endurance with the FSAE team in 2025, resulting in our first completion of the competition since 2020 and our best overall placement ever. I couldn't be more proud of the hard fight that our team put up in order to make it that far. I led this team as their president, but their hard work and watching how excited everyone was truly made that experience special.

What, in your opinion, makes Grand Valley special?

The small class sizes made it super easy to connect with my peers and professors. I came from a small high school, so it was nice to be able to move to a bigger school without feeling like just another student in my program.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

"Would you rather see the car run, or see your aero package on it?" This advice is twofold. While it was literally referring to a discussion I was having with a mentor at the time, I have taken it to also remind me to take a step back and recognize the effort that everyone is putting in, including myself, and whether or not my effort is going into the betterment of just myself or my team as a whole, this was applicable not only in FSAE, but also in projects both personal, for school, and at work.

What are three words you would use to describe your experience in Grand Valley Engineering?

Challenging, stressful, rewarding

What student organizations were you involved in?

I was involved in Formula SAE, and am a member of Tau Beta Pi

What difference would you like to make in the world?

I want to be able to inspire the next generation of students to be thoughtful and conscious about what it is they are doing. Whether that is by teaching or by working, I am not sure yet, but I want to be able to show through my actions that we should be taking pride in our own craft and encouraging others to do the same. I was drawn to engineering because of the beauty of some of the solutions to these complex problems, and I want to be able to keep a spotlight on those who are behind those solutions.

If you could give one piece of advice to an incoming engineering student, what would it be?

Get involved. While it is the most common piece of advice you will receive, it is also the most important. I was the most terrified freshman when I first got to GV, but getting involved with a student org, especially one so closely tied to my major, brought me some of my best friends and some of the most enjoyable times in my life.

Is there anyone that you would like to thank?

I want to thank the professors who have helped to mentor me throughout my time at GV and encouraged me to continue in my education, Dr. Baine and Dr. Manoharan, the FSAE team past and present who helped to carry me through even if they didn't always realize it, my friends, Luke, Hunter, Ben and Elli, my family who helped get me here, and my incredibly supportive partner, John, who helps to lift me up every day.