Zarria Gray took her first international trip as a UC co-op student in the College of Engineering and Applied Science. After working in Switzerland, she learned that she really liked traveling. Photo/Provided

Gray got the job and packed for Europe.

"I was very scared. I have four brothers. I'm the only girl. My mom is always worried about something bad happening to me," she said.

But she set aside her fears and set off for Geneva. To her surprise and delight, she loved it. She hiked in the mountains every weekend. She helped build some of the frames for the plates in the detector.

Suddenly, the world seemed a much smaller place, she said.

"It was absolutely incredible. Getting to work with the most intelligent people in the world was mind-boggling," she said.

Zarria graduated from UC in 2025 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering technology. She parlayed her experience building a hydraulic-powered bike with her classmates for her senior design project into a job offer from engineering company IMI, which specializes in fluid and motion control systems.

She was asked to be a judge in the National Fluid Power Association's fluid-powered vehicle challenge that she had competed in as a UC student.

Now her work takes her all over the country and abroad. She got to go to England. This summer, she's moving from Chicago to Los Angeles.

"CERN helped me get my wings to venture out and fly," Gray said. "Now I'm starting a magnet collection on my refrigerator from the places I've been."

Featured image at top: UC student Zarria Gray said she enjoyed hiking in the Swiss Alps when she was not working in her mechanical engineering technology co-op at CERN's Large Hadron Collider. Photo/Provided