For Shelly, Allison, and Isabella Larson, industrial engineering isn’t just a field of study; it’s a family calling. The three sisters all pursued the discipline at the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, following the career path their mother blazed before them.

The sisters shared that their love of math and science started at a young age, naturally excelling in both subjects throughout middle and high school. That passion was further nurtured at home, where their parents, Maria and Troy Larson, played a central role. After school, they would turn to their mother for help with math homework, a routine that became a foundation for their academic confidence.

“Our mom pushed us, and I think that we’re the better for it. She always pushed us to excel. It was a matter of making sure that we got As. Bs weren't really quite acceptable,” Shelley explained.

While math and science were always part of their foundation, the field is vast, with countless specializations and career paths that branch off in different directions. Yet all three sisters ended up choosing the same major at the same school. For Allison, the middle sister, the path was partly paved by watching her older sister go first.

“Seeing that Shelley kind of made a path, and I knew that it was one that I could take and I could follow, made it very easy. I’m also good at things that she's good at. Might as well just kind of do what she's doing. And I think industrial engineering itself. From everything we knew and learned about it, it offered a lot of different opportunities,” Allison said.

Isabella echoed those sentiments, adding that having a sibling go through the program first made the experience far less daunting. Many of the unknowns had already been navigated, and once all three were at Tech together, they became an informal support system for one another, helping with coursework, class selections, and the everyday grind of an intense program.

“If I was really struggling with the concept in the particular class, I would always call Allison to help me with my computer science homework, because I just wasn’t able to understand the concept. So it was almost [like] having additional teachers and resources that we could always lean on. Also, just to talk through challenges that we were facing and have an extra support system in that way because they've gone through it a couple of years prior,” Isabella explained.

The Larsons also found time to build a rich campus life. All three pledged Alpha Delta Pi sorority, finding a close-knit community outside of the classroom. They also each served as resident assistants, an experience they valued for the opportunity to connect with students from all different backgrounds. Allison and Isabella added club tennis to the mix, rounding out lives that were full both academically and socially.

After graduating, the sisters remained in the industrial engineering field but carved out distinct paths. Shelley moved into customer success, Allison into product management, and Isabella into consulting. The drive to keep growing didn't stop at graduation, either. Shelley later returned to Georgia Tech for her MBA, and Allison came back for a Master of Science in Analytics. 

That ambition didn't emerge in a vacuum. The role models in their lives, chief among them their mother, shaped the women they became. She didn't simply set high standards for her daughters, she lived them. They grew up knowing her story: how she left Peru at 20 and moved to Michigan without speaking a word of English, building a life through sheer determination. As young girls, the sisters remember watching her rise early every morning to get to work and provide for the family.

“Seeing hard work firsthand, the early mornings and the hard days, she always made it work. And of course, she always prioritized us, but it was just always at the forefront that you have a really hardworking mother,” Isabella said.

Their mother's example also carried a deeper message, one about what women are capable of. In a field where female role models have historically been few and far between, the sisters never saw those limitations as barriers. That confidence, in large part, was something their mother imparted in them.

“My mom's a woman in work, a woman in STEM. She's always instilled in us that you always work: that it's your independence,” Shelley said.