Kaitlyn Justice ’24 Goes Nuclear

Kaitlyn Justice ’24, a native of Amherst County, Va., knew she wanted to attend Sweet Briar since the Admissions Office recruited her at Amherst County High School during her junior year.

At the time, Kaitlyn was a member of the school’s STEM program, as well as their welding program — the only female in the program when she started it. “Sweet Briar had hands-on learning and small classes just like my STEM program and it was a fantastic move for me,” said Kaitlyn.

Now, Kaitlyn holds the title of nuclear engineer I at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division, her third position at the organization after being promoted twice since she started working there in January 2024 following graduating a semester early from Sweet Briar. Kaitlyn is a project engineer, overseeing the welding division, welding submarines, helping with the mechanization process as well as the main seals on nuclear reactors.

“I always knew I wanted to be an engineer,” said Kaitlyn. Her uncle, Danny P. Jones Jr., is a science operations analyst for NASA. The two are very close because, as Kaitlyn puts it, “we’re both math people.” Kaitlyn’s uncle cultivated her interest in math and science through her love of robotics and interest in Python programming.

Of course, Kaitlyn’s professors also cultivated her interests, something she misses about Sweet Briar. “I really miss learning just to be able to learn and not just for a test.” At Sweet Briar, she was able to build on her welding training with her engineering professors.

Kaitlyn is one of four members of the Class of 2024 working at the shipyard — Avery Jones, Abigail McAllister, and Emily Trunk joined her there after Commencement this spring. Sweet Briar has more than 15 alumnae working at the shipyard in various departments.

Director of Career Services Barb Watts played a role in these 2024 alumnae careers. The human resources department of the shipyard was invited to a federal career fair at Sweet Briar during Kaitlyn’s junior year, during which she had an interview on campus and started down her career path.

As a native of the region, first-generation college graduate, and daughter of local small business owners, Kaitlyn wants other young women in the county to know that they can also achieve their dreams at Sweet Briar. “I really hope there’s more people in Amherst who see me and say, ‘I can do that, too.’ Because they can. They absolutely can.”

In the next year, Kaitlyn plans to enroll at Virginia Commonwealth University to earn her master’s degree in nuclear engineering.