See all stories published in the 25 under 25 special edition here.
Malena González Fernández’s impact in sustainability and STEM outreach stretches coast to coast. From Gainesville classrooms to California research labs, she’s working to design water treatment systems that benefit people and the planet.
The 22-year-old UF environmental engineering senior minoring in English plays a key role in the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, where she leads outreach programs introducing K-12 students to science, technology, engineering and math careers.
González Fernández always knew environmental engineering aligned with her talents and aspirations. She said it was “the best of both worlds.”
“I could financially provide for myself while also putting good into the world by protecting public health and providing for people,” she said.
Her focus: wastewater treatment. González Fernández wants to design and maintain the systems that deliver safe drinking water and manage what leaves homes through drains, she said.
One of her biggest achievements came last summer, when she joined Stanford University’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, which selects about 30 students worldwide. Her research focused on advanced water purification processes designed to recycle wastewater into safe drinking water, a key innovation in combating global water scarcity.
Ben Najm, a Stanford Ph.D. candidate who mentored González Fernández, said her initiative was rare among undergraduates.
“She’s going to go forward and do really wonderful, impactful work,” Najm said.
González Fernández was eager to learn — she emailed Najm before the program started expressing her excitement — and “applied herself right away” when they began research, he said.
In addition to her own research, she mentored a high school student who was also at Stanford for a pre-college program, Najm said.
“Over the summer, it basically went from me showing her how to do things and what they mean, to her actually training others and helping them get the results,” Najm said.
Born in Argentina, González Fernández moved away when she was about 3 years old. She spent time in Switzerland and Brazil before her family settled down in Miami. But her Latino culture remains a source of celebration, she said.
“In Miami, I think, is where I felt the most connected to my culture,” she said. “Not only do you feel like celebrating your own background or showcasing your own culture, but you also get exposed to so many other peoples’ cultures and things that are specific to Hispanic countries, such as the food or cultural holidays.”
Her parents emphasized staying connected to their roots. She credits her upbringing for her ability to connect with others across cultures — a skill she now channels into professional collaborations and mentoring other students.
Julia Jamieson, a bioengineering Ph.D. student at the University of California at Berkeley and at UC San Francisco, has been close friends with González Fernández since her freshman year. She said her classmate’s intelligence was obvious early on.
“I had asked a question to the TA because I was a little lost on that topic, and the TA explained it really poorly, and I remember I think I just looked lost on the Zoom call,” Jamieson said. “She jumped in and explained the topic to me. … From there, I just knew she was really cool, really intelligent and clearly a very supportive person.”
González Fernández stands out for her balance of technical expertise, community work and personal warmth, Jamieson said.
An aspect of González Fernández’s Hispanic culture is a "whatever you need” attitude, said Jamieson, and it was the first time she felt welcomed to that extent.
“Whatever she does, whatever she walks into,” Jamieson says, “she will be successful. She leaves an amazing impression.”
González Fernández plans to work as an environmental engineering consultant after graduation and later pursue a master’s degree or Ph.D., aiming to become a technical expert and policy influencer in sustainable infrastructure.
Contact Angelique Rodriguez at arodriguez@alligator.org. Follow her on X @angeliquesrod.
Angelique is a first-year journalism major and the Fall 2025 graduate school reporter. In her free time, she'll probably be reading, writing, hanging out with her friends or looking through the newest fashion runway shows on Vogue.
