Victoria Aguilera
Mechanical Engineer, Walt Disney Imagineering

Victoria Aguilera came to the United States from Mexico when she was eight years old. In order to get their children across the border, Aguilera's parents asked American couples to pretend to be their parents and allow them to ride in the back seats of their cars. When the entire family reached the United States side of the border, they were reunited and began a new life in California. Life was difficult for several years as the family adjusted. Aguilera started school without knowing a word of English, and since she could not understand her teachers, they assumed that she was slow and placed her in remedial classes. However, she soon learned to speak English and proved that she was a very bright student with a talent for mathematics.

In high school, Aguilera became involved in Mathematics-Engineering-Science Achievement (MESA) and Upward Bound, two programs designed to help young people who are interested in mathematics and science. Through these programs, Aguilera met a mechanical engineer who inspired her to pursue a career in engineering. After graduation, she went on to Loyola Marymount College, where she earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.

After college, Aguilera started working for Walt Disney Imagineering, the company that creates the rides and attractions at Walt Disney theme parks. Almost ten years later, she still works for the company. As a mechanical engineer, Victoria has worked on teams that design rides like Space Mountain at Disneyland Paris, the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland in California and the GM Test Track at EPCOT Center in Florida. Although there are thousands of people behind the scenes at Disney theme parks, Aguilera is one of a small number of women engineers working there. Outside the lab, Victoria remains close to her parents and her five siblings, and is an avid runner.

Photo courtesy of Blackside, Inc.
Biography by Lauren Foley