Colleen McGuire

Colleen McGuire  

Hometown: Oakton, VA 

Expected Graduation: Spring 2024 

Colleen is a junior in the Industrial and Systems Engineering program from Oakton, Virginia, about 45 minutes outside of Washington D.C. With plenty of family members all over the state of Ohio and connections with alumni, OHIO had always been on her list of schools. Once she was able to experience the beautiful campus and wonderful community firsthand, Colleen knew that the Russ College was definitely the place for her. 

Joining an engineering club in elementary school and speaking with industry professionals about ISE led to Colleen’s passion for the fields of Industrial and Systems Engineering. She knew she was in the right place on her first day in the program at OHIO, and couldn’t be happier with her decision. Colleen also fell in love with programming in high school, which led to her pursuing a minor in Computer Science, in addition to a few other minors and certificates. 

Colleen currently serves as Program Director for the OU chapter of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) and the Vice President of Alpha Pi Mu Industrial Engineering Honor Society. She has also had the opportunity to work with Russ College professors as a Teaching Assistant and Undergraduate Research Assistant, applying her data analysis and programming knowledge to projects outside of class. 

Recently, Colleen worked as an Aviation Safety Intern with the Federal Aviation Administration, within the Office of Accident Investigation and Prevention. In this position, Colleen aided in development of software packages used to model and predict potential accidents, with the overall goal of preventing accidents and reducing fatalities. Additionally, she was able to explore how data analysis and information sharing can be used to prevent future accidents. 

Outside of engineering, Colleen enjoys listening to and making music, spending time with friends across campus, and enjoying the wonderful community of Athens.