A Nansemond River High School junior says she has returned from an engineering conference at the University of Virginia with a clearer understanding of how to achieve her career goals.

Emily Bazemore attended the Society of Women Engineers conference in Charlottesville last weekend, giving her a chance to experience dorm life, hear from inspiring lecturers and participate in challenging, hands-on projects.

After lectures from engineering professors, the groups of girls enjoyed a campus tour. “I fell in love,” said Bazemore, who plans to attend UVA to pursue a career as a physician specializing in pediatrics. “This is the school that I definitely want to go to.”

Bazemore estimated more than 100 girls attended the conference. “Less than half got to spend the night — that was a great experience,” she said.

One of their projects was to build a model boat that would remain afloat when weighted down with pebbles.

Another centered on circuit design. “I was able to identify different components of the circuit,” Bazemore said.

While Bazemore isn’t planning to become an engineer, the opportunity to connect with professors in a science-related field and experience life at the college she wants to attend was still valuable, she said.

“I could still ask questions centered around science … not just focus on the (engineering) topic,” she said.

Like many teens, Bazemore apparently hasn’t always been set on the career currently locked in her sights.

“For a while, I really wanted to be a journalist, then I decided on medicine,” she said.

A Project Lead The Way participant, Bazemore was selected to attend the conference after writing an essay. “I wrote about history and the history behind engineering,” she said.

She said her mother, who went to Virginia Tech, has had to come to terms with her school choice. “I guess I can deal with that,” Emily Bazemore recalled her mother saying. “It was really hard for her to say.”

Bazemore, who describes herself as an artsy type, is president of Nansemond River’s Volunteers Out In The Community Every Day Club and is involved in school drama, among other activities.