Composites: Lillie Vehling Builds Community Through Water Polo and Engineering
Composites is a video series exploring how interdisciplinary interests and perspectives are a fulcrum for next-level education in the College of Engineering at the University of California, Davis.
Lillie Vehling knew she wanted to be an engineer when she was 4 years old.
Her father, a captain in the Los Angeles Fire Department, was injured in the line of duty. He broke his neck and back and sustained a severe spinal cord injury. He returned home from the hospital with what Vehling describes as a “wave of technology,” and six years later, he was the seventh person in the world to get a bionic leg.
“It changed our lives as a family,” Vehling said. “That was all enabled through the technologies of engineering. From the get-go, I knew I wanted to learn how to solve these types of problems and improve life for other people.”
Now, Vehling is a third-year undergraduate at the University of California, Davis, double-majoring in mechanical engineering and aerospace science and engineering. She recently started working at the Diane Bryant Engineering Student Design Center, or ESDC, using its machinery to create solutions for the different needs of labs and classes.
She appreciates both connecting with other engineering majors at the ESDC and the freedom and autonomy that the work allows.
“What I love about the workplace is that it’s initiative-driven, so if you see a problem, you have full rein to fix it with the resources that are around you,” she said.
Vehling also takes initiative in the water as an attacker on the UC Davis women’s water polo team. This season, Vehling competed in all 28 matches, helping the team reach the semifinals of the Big West Championship. She and the rest of the team fought hard in what would be their final game of the 2025-26 season against Long Beach State, in which Vehling scored three goals.
When she came to UC Davis as a high schooler for an official visit with the water polo coaches and the team, Vehling knew she had to attend. The coaches made it clear that, at UC Davis, pursuing a STEM major and being an NCAA Division 1 athlete was not only doable but supported.
“There are very few places in college athletics that allow you to be an engineer and a student athlete,” Vehling said. “The ability to voraciously pursue my academic goals and be super competitive with top-level teams in the nation just shows how Davis supports their student athletes.”
The common thread that weaves through all of Vehling’s pursuits is community. Vehling loves engaging with others and believes that you can learn something from everyone. So, whether she’s collaborating with people to solve problems at the ESDC or working with her water polo peers to crush the competition, Vehling is always on the lookout for ways to strengthen her community — a trait she inherited from her father.
“My dad really instilled a passion for giving back to your community. He lives with a willingness to sacrifice himself for the betterment of others, and that’s what being part of the community is about. I feel like that translates into a lot of what I do.”
