Student Spotlight

When Gio Guanuna, native of San Diego California, first started studying at BYU, he was majoring in neuroscience. He was planning on going to medical school after he graduated, but he found that he didn’t enjoy it as much as he originally thought. When thinking about other options, Gio thought he would enjoy engineering, specifically the problem solving and critical thinking aspects, as well as all the ways that one could apply the concepts in the real world. In the end, he decided to major in chemical engineering and hasn’t looked back since.

For Gio, one of the biggest reasons behind feeling a sense of belonging at BYU has been the faculty and staff. “Switching from neuroscience to engineering, especially chemical engineering, felt a little overwhelming and out of reach, but there were lots of people who were welcoming and made it seem possible.” Gio especially appreciates the way that his professors teach their classes and how they create a culture of welcoming and learning.

One thing Gio enjoys doing is checking out different clubs and organizations on campus. “I feel like college is a time to explore my interests and see what I like and don’t like.” You’ll often find him at opening socials or lectures around campus as well as different sports games.

Gio is the president of the LIFE (local inspiration for future engineers) Club. The goal of this club is to inspire K-12 students to want to pursue careers in engineering and STEM. They visit elementary and middle schools and for an hour, teach an engineering principle and do an activity based on what they just learned. “It’s wonderful seeing the twinkle in their eyes when they realize that one day, they can do something like this and produce something.” Gio has especially found enjoyment reaching out to the Hispanic population at the schools they visit. Last year when the club visited a school in Orem, Gio along with a couple of other members translated the lesson into Spanish for the Hispanic students they were teaching. “It completely changed the expression of the students. They were really happy to see that we could communicate the concepts we were teaching them in their native language.” Currently, they are focusing on reaching out to Spanish speaking students as well as getting more women engineers involved in the club so they can connect better to female students. “If the young women can see someone who looks more like them coming to their school to talk about engineering, I think it’s that much more inspiration for them.”

While LIFE club is the club that Gio is most involved in, he is starting up another with a friend called BYU Society of Engineers Abroad. The purpose of this club is to help students realize that there are study and work opportunities abroad. It also helps them navigate the process of signing up for those opportunities. Gio is also involved in Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), participating in their outreach activities as well.

Gio is also involved in research on campus. He works in Dr. Richard Watts lab in the chemistry and biochemistry department. He deals with lateral flow immunoassays (LFI) and applies it to create different tests such as rapid COVID tests as well as testing for concussions and alcohol consumption.

When he’s not busy with school, clubs, and research, Gio enjoys playing soccer and ultimate frisbee on intramural teams, slackline, learning languages (Arabic is his current pursuit), and longboarding down the Provo Canyon.

Something that Gio is pushing himself to do, and encourages all engineering students to join him in doing, is to simply try whatever interests them. “I came to college a little reserved, but there are so many different opportunities and possibilities to explore here. I don’t think you should consider anything out of reach.” Whether it is attending a new club or talking to different professors about their experiences, if something interests you, Gio encourages everyone to do what you can to learn more about it and experience it yourself.

We’re grateful to have Gio in our student body.