Helena Vanegas

Global Challenge: Using engineering to bring sustainability to underrepresented communities in urban environments globally in an affordable, accessible, and ethical way.

Helena Vanegas is a Mechanical Engineering student at NYU Tandon who is passionate about climate justice. Being a Latina who was born and raised in Bushwick, Brooklyn, Helena has seen the impacts of climate change on low-income residents in New York City, the Latinx community, and other vulnerable communities as a whole. She is passionate about finding sustainable solutions to climate change through engineering that are accessible, affordable, and ethical for all. Outside of academics, Helena enjoys crocheting and sewing her own clothes, reading books, and watching horror movies.

Helena has been a part of many different extracurriculars in and outside of school. She was a member of the Teen Climate Justice Program, where she first developed her passion for sustainability through advocacy work and community service in the Lower East Side. Helena has also developed her academic skills by serving as a Calculus 2 Tutor at NYU Tandon. Most recently, she has taken on a leadership role as the incoming Public Relations Chair on the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers' 2026 Executive Board. Helena is committed to developing her leadership and professional skills through NYU Tandon's various opportunities, and she hopes these experiences will equip her with the knowledge and tools to pursue her goal of becoming a mechanical engineer in New York City fighting for climate justice. She also aspires to travel and help communities around the world tackle their own climate challenges.

As a GLASS Scholar, Helena is focused on UN Sustainability Goals 10 and 11: Reduced Inequalities and Sustainable Cities and Communities. She believes that in order to effectively combat climate change, engineers must prioritize reducing its social and economic impact on vulnerable populations. Especially in large cities like New York, it is essential for engineers to protect communities that have historically been disproportionately affected by climate change. Driven by these passions, Helena chose to join GLASS for its extensive resources and the knowledge the program offers in pursuit of her goals. GLASS will also develop Helena as a global leader through study away opportunities, broadening her perspective and deepening her understanding of how other cities around the world are tackling climate change.