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Brianna Tolsma, BSc Mechanical Engineering Co-op, Philosophy minor

An educational journey built by curiosity and grit

Learn About the Program

There were a number of motivators that pushed Brianna Tolsma into studying mechanical engineering, including sibling rivalry and gender bias, but the true driving force in her life guiding most of her decisions is insatiable curiosity. Initially, this deep-seated quest for answers landed her in physics, then biomedical engineering, until she had a revelation several years into her educational journey. 

“I realized I much preferred pure mechanical engineering over the stress of optimizing humans,” she says, noting that mechanical systems were more aligned with her interests and abilities. She transferred into the mechanical engineering stream and later added a philosophy minor as another avenue to explore the universe's unanswered questions. 

Following graduation, Brianna will be participating in the in Brooklyn, Michigan as a chassis subsystem lead for the U of A’s student project group. As for her future plans, Brianna’s curiosity will undoubtedly guide her path.  

Congratulations Brianna!

What program are you graduating from?

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, philosophy minor. 

What led you to choose your current area of study, and why the U of A for your studies?

I am a daughter of a generational crop farmer and beef producer and grew up near a very blue-collar town. I was surrounded by heavy-duty equipment and industrial machinery all my life, so it should be no surprise I ended up choosing to study mechanical engineering. Yet, I never really had the same hands-on experience with mechanical systems as many of the boys I grew up with did, as they were encouraged to help with their dad’s work on their dirt bikes and cars. 

There was almost certainly some implicit jealousy that led me down this route, but what made me more consciously choose engineering was this: when my older sister took physics 20 and 30 in high school, she used to come home raving about how neat the universe was all the time. Filled with middle child envy, I thought it was rather unfair that she got to understand how the universe works because I figured if it was indeed as great as she insisted it was, I might enjoy knowing about it as well. 

Fast forward five years when I was finally enrolled in physics, I did enjoy learning about the universe, but I was quite dissatisfied to learn about all the unanswered questions physicists still have about it. At the same time, I was also coaching gymnastics part-time and decided to write my IB internal assessment paper on the energy conservation of springboards. I had to do a lot of background research on biomechanics for it, which made me think that I might better enjoy using the few laws physicists agree on to optimize athletic training. The U of A has a great biomedical-mechanical engineering program, which is why I applied here. 

Four years after that, a lot of the hands-on exposure I got through extracurriculars really helped me unravel this internalized notion I had about mechanics being for boys/men only, and I realized I much preferred pure mechanical engineering over the stress of optimizing humans, so I transferred into the mechanical engineering stream. 

Then a year later, I added a philosophy minor to see what all the fuss around those remaining unanswerable questions about the universe was about.

What is one of your favourite memories from your time at the U of A?

There are so many great memories that come to mind, but one of my more unique ones was when I got to drive the student project group’s car last summer at a testing session at Strawberry Creek Raceway. Not only was driving an open-wheeled electric race car insanely fun and a huge adrenaline rush, it was also incredible to tangibly interact with all the work myself and the rest of our team put into designing and fabricating the car. 

Tell us about your favourite professor and/or class.

I was a little bit out of sequence one semester and ended up taking (Feedback Control Design of Dynamic Systems) and (Anatomy and Physiology for Engineers – Human Systems) in the same semester. It was mind blowing to learn about mechanical control loops for one hour, then notice there’s effectively the same type of control loop in our bodies during my next class. It was a good reminder that there are so many wise designs that already exist all around us in our biological world. 

Did you take on any leadership roles while you were a student? 

From September 2021 to December 2023, I was the mechanical lead of the exoskeleton project in , a biomedical-focused engineering student project group here formerly known as the U of A Biomedical Technologies Development Group or UABiomed, for short. From January to December 2024, I was the group’s president. I played both a technical and managerial role in many of ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ Bionix’s several projects and volunteer experiences over the course of my time in the group but transitioned out of the group after I realized I was not as passionate for biomedical engineering as I had hoped I would be. I was in the group for four and a half years, so I certainly think it would be possible for me to act like it was all time and effort lost in the end, but I’m actually quite grateful for all the experiences and people I met through it!

I am now the chassis subsystem lead in the Formula SAE racing student project group for the 2024-2025 season, which I joined in 2023 after deciding mechanical systems were more my forte. The subsystem has been a unique challenge for me since I have mainly catered my work experiences and extracurriculars in drivetrain and actuation devices. Despite being out of my comfort zone with regards to technical knowledge, I have enjoyed the mentorship and hands-on manufacturing associated with this subsystem in particular. 

Did you face any significant obstacles or challenges during your program?

At the start of my third year, I was struggling financially quite significantly due to the increase in tuition fees. That was one of the most disillusioning times of my life. I had really internalized this idea that I would come to university to make a better life for myself, so bottoming out like that made me feel like a complete failure. I’m sure I could’ve tried leaning on the university’s support programs and their foodbank, but I remember thinking I brought this all upon myself because I wasn’t fiscally responsible enough. When I look back at it now, I realize it’s awfully hard to be fiscally responsible when there’s very little to be responsible for to begin with. 

I have managed to pull through by taking two off-terms to work full-time in addition to my co-op terms, but I’ll fully admit I caught a few lucky breaks with some scholarships, had a really generous friend sublet a room to me for under market value and the public student loan limit increased. It makes me sad for other students in similar circumstances who don’t get the same breaks I did. My only advice to them is to swallow your pride and ask for help, take a semester or more off to get some income if that’s not enough, listen to people who offer you financial advice even when it’s not what you want to hear and try not to beat yourself up for just trying to survive. 

What advice do you have for current and future students?

My biggest advice to anyone is to remind yourself that school is oftentimes meant to be challenging. You’re not a failure if your coursework is difficult or the social aspects of university are scary. All of the discomfort, anxiety, stress, exhaustion and insecurity you experience are indications that you are not only learning but also growing as a person. I think we often dislike these negative emotions and end up seeking shortcuts to ‘remedy’ them such as using AI tools to help you write, electing not to join an extracurricular because of insecurity, turning down an internship in another city, spending all our time complaining about coursework and so on. In reality, you are only denying yourself the formative technical and life-skills that university is quite literally designed to instill in you. I found that once I embraced that it’s difficult by design, I spent a lot less time worrying about why I was struggling and just allowed myself to struggle. I also was able to be more present through it all and noticed that there were so many wonderful, happy moments all around me that I was missing out on when I was more mentally preoccupied with my suffering. 

How do you plan on celebrating convocation?

I will be away at the in Brooklyn, Michigan. We might not have a lot of time for celebrating, but it’ll be a great ‘last hurrah’ to the end of my degree by representing the U of A’s engineering program on an international stage!

What's next after graduation?

My biggest focus for the next month is on prepping for the Formula SAE competition and catching up on some much-needed sleep. I have a trip planned to Italy and Romania to both visit some family and learn about different avenues I could go down career-wise, because I have a lot of different ideas but want to be intentional about the one I choose.