Ana Montoya

Currently: Student 

Status: Senior

Degree: Neuroscience

On Ut Prosim: Montoya hails from Bogota, Colombia, and currently works as an emergency medical technician (basic) with the Virginia Tech Rescue Squad, a student-run organization that functions like a municipal rescue squad. She has served on the membership committee and currently serves as the public outreach lieutenant, helping to educate the community on ways to prevent emergencies and to raise overall health awareness. She said she attends various events that require the services of the rescue squad and commits approximately 30 to 40 hours per week to the squad.

“I said in my interview when I applied that I wanted something that was a lot of time, which is not really common,” Montoya said. “I wanted something that had a big time commitment because that's what I like to do. I like to devote my time and service for others, and I don't want to do it three hours a week or five hours a week. I want to be as involved as I can in the community.”

On how Virginia Tech has impacted her: “I think a community cannot work without service. I think it's one of the integral parts of the growth, development, and even sustainment of a community because it's a two-way street. You give a lot, but you also receive a lot personally, emotionally. I think it not only bonds everyone, but it gives us another reason to live, and it's a very exciting thing, which is why I love Tech and the motto we have because I think that motto really drives people to do service.”

On the importance of service for Virginia Tech’s future: “I think it's one of the things that makes Tech one of the best universities, I would not only say in the country, but in the world, having an outsider perspective. I think it's important to keep that service part going because it's what makes us different. … I truly feel that this motto, it is one of the biggest reasons that makes our campus and our community that connected, that grateful, and that happy.”