Alyssa is a junior mechanical engineering major and entertainment minor. Despite being an engineering major, the arts have always been important to her. She loves bringing imagination to life. What started as a hobby with prop making was given new life after joining multiple international championship-level robotics teams. Alyssa’s experience there led her to engineering, and she realized that she could build magic for others. She will apply her skills as a mechanical engineer to bring animatronics, immersive scenery, and props to life. This past semester, she built sets in the UConn Scene Shop, was a spotlight operator and lighting technician with The Art of Being Seen LLC and UConn’s Page to Stage and worked as an AV Production Assistant. Over the summer, she spent her second year at Connecti-con’s costume repair center helping guests fix and improve their cosplays and props. Alyssa looks forward to stage managing Page to Stage’s Mama Mia in the coming months and continuing to run AV in the Student Union. She believes that to fully engineer something to life, you must breathe creativity into it. She is extremely honored to have been awarded the Krenicki Institute Scholarship.

Brianna is a sophomore honors student pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in Aerospace.  She is a Presidential Scholar, STEM Scholar, Dean’s List recipient, and serves on the E-Board for the UConn STEM program.  As a 2025–2026 Werth Innovator, she developed her original idea for “Morning Mirror” into a working prototype of an AI-powered smart mirror. In addition, Brianna was awarded an IDEA Grant to pursue her project, “The Enchanted Book,” which blends art and engineering into an educational outreach tool that provides an interactive experience.  Outside of engineering, she enjoys painting, drawing, and dancing, and she often looks to these creative outlets to inspire her approach to engineering design and complex problem-solving. Brianna is deeply honored to be a recipient of the Krenicki Arts and Engineering Institute Scholarship. She looks forward to utilizing the Institute's resources to continue blending art and technology, pursuing her passions, and creating designs that inspire others.

Leanna is a junior majoring in Graphic Design, with minors in both Computer Science and Mathematics, and is passionate about the collaboration of creativity, technology, and problem-solving. She enjoys exploring ways to combine technical skills with artistic and human-centered design. As President of UConn’s 3D Printing Club, she leads collaborative projects and helps foster a creative community centered around functional design, prototyping, and creative engineering. Through this role, she has been able to transform her digital designs and graphics into tangible objects while encouraging others to explore, experiment, and bring their own ideas to life. In addition, Leanna serves as a tour guide for the School of Fine Arts, where she shares her enthusiasm for UConn’s creative community with prospective students and families. She is honored to be selected as a Krenicki Scholar and looks forward to continuing to grow with the resources offered at UConn.

Layla is a senior majoring in Design/Technical Theatre with a concentration in Technical Direction. Raised in Ledyard, Connecticut, she developed her passion for technical theatre through high school drama productions. While continuing her exploration of technical theatre at UConn, she fell in love with carpentry and technical direction. Classes exploring electronics, rigging, and structures have enabled her to dive deeper into engineering within the arts. She expanded those skills professionally at regional venues including Cortland Repertory Theatre (Assistant Technical Director and Carpenter) and Bay Street Theatre (Staff Carpenter). These positions allowed her to utilize creative skills like woodworking while also employing physics and math to create plans for safe structures and mechanisms, all to create the magic of theatre. She is proud and grateful to be a recipient of the Krenicki Arts and Engineering Institute Scholarship.