International Women in Engineering Day:
Meet Valeria Reyna of Electro Freeze
Behind every great frozen treat is a team of people dedicated to delivering quality, consistency, and innovation. This International Women in Engineering Day, we’re proud to recognize Valeria Reyna, Mechanical Engineer at Electro Freeze®. Her passion for engineering helps bring our equipment to life!
Finding Her Passion
Valeria didn’t always know engineering was her path. She began college studying biochemistry. Growing up near Detroit, she was told that many engineering careers centered around the automotive industry. This deterred her from wanting to enter the field.
At the encouragement of her father, who is an industrial engineer, she took an introductory engineering course. Her first project involved designing a bridge to improve traffic flow. She quickly discovered she loved designing to solve problems that can improve people’s lives. From that moment on, she knew engineering was where she belonged. But she was still dismayed that her future may either involve automotive design or she may be forced to do more design work that required always sitting at a desk. While these paths were available, Valeria wanted something different. The opportunity to work at Electro Freeze® was one that she had not expected.
“I was excited to work on ice cream machines because they make people happy. It was something that I had never considered.”
Today, she spends her time balancing hands-on lab testing with machine design. In the lab, Valeria fine-tunes machine settings to achieve the quality, and capacity customers expect from Electro Freeze® machines. She also designs and updates equipment to meet evolving refrigerant and safety standards.
For Valeria, testing isn’t just about collecting data. “It helps me understand the machine beyond what’s on paper. That makes me a better designer.”
Women in Engineering
Like many women in engineering, Valeria faced moments where she felt she had to prove herself throughout her schooling and career. Those experiences weren’t always easy or comfortable. However, they strengthened her confidence and reinforced her passion for learning. She hopes to see more women enter the engineering field. She encourages women in engineering to stay curious and seek untraditional career paths that they may not hear about in school.
At Electro Freeze®, we’re proud to have engineers like Valeria whose creativity, craftsmanship, and dedication help us continue delivering premium frozen treat equipment to operators around the world. We are delighted to celebrate Valeria and all the women whose talent, determination, and innovation continue to shape the future of engineering.