Chartiers Valley senior with drive for engineering named to 18 under Eighteen
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Gabriella Ballock first met Chartiers Valley teacher Chuck Barber when she was a new student and couldn’t get inside the high school building.
Barber, an applied engineering and technology teacher, opened the door to let her inside the school.
And as Ballock entered the engineering and shop facility, she knew she was in the right place.
Ballock was recently named to the Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania’s 18 Under Eighteen Class of 2023, a program that recognizes high school students’ talents throughout the region.
“It’s perfect,” Barber said. “It couldn’t have happened to a better student.”
The students were honored during a Feb. 6 event at Acrisure Stadium.
“It was really a surprise for me,” Ballock said of her nomination.
Ballock has a passion for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), and leads Chartiers Valley’s robotics team, Horsepower 4991.
She plans events, organizes outreach and recruitment efforts and, during the offseason, takes robots to elementary and middle school students to introduce the next generation to robotics.
She also organizes and hosts the “Women in Pittsburgh Career Highlight Day,” where women in STEM-related fields can give speeches and talk about the opportunities available in their field.
“I think it’s a really cool experience because I’m encouraging girls and young kids to get involved in whatever they want to do,” she said.
Ballock found her passion in STEM from participating in a Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science competition when she was in middle school. There, she won an award from the Society of Women Engineers.
When she got to high school, she took civil engineering classes. Through networking with others in that field, she determined that it’s the path she wants to follow.
She plans on pursuing a career in Civil Engineering.
“I’m all about, if you see a problem, how can we fix it? It’s a perfect career field for me,” she said.
This past summer, she was able to gain experience at Giffin Interior and Fixture in Collier. Her time there was valuable, as she was able to contribute to projects and learn work order processing and laser measuring.
Ballock also has a strong sense for community service and giving back.
Last fall, she helped coordinate schoolwide activities and a letter-writing campaign encouraging breast cancer screenings for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
She’s thankful for the mentors she has had in her life and hopes she can be that to future generations.
“Without those people, I wouldn’t be where I’m at today,” she said. “If I can do that to someone else, maybe they can discover their passion like I did.”
Barber believes the future is bright for Ballock.
“I could honestly see (Ballock) open her own engineering firm,” he said. “If anybody could do it, it would be her.”