Cambry Stratton Makes Waves

“Keep stepping! You’re almost to your daily goal.” At 4 p.m. on the dot, Lisa Stratton gets her daily reminder to take a walk.  

The routine notification is a product of her daughter’s ingenuity, and perhaps slight annoyance, at the request for constant reminders to hit 10,000 steps daily. 

Automating her mother’s health goals is just one example of how fourth-year civil engineering student and aspiring medical professional Cambry Stratton is planning to merge her knack for solving problems and passion for interpersonal connections to better the lives of those around her.  

“I’ve always wanted to help people, but I never thought I could blend my passions and career. I thought if you’d mix the two, you’d risk losing that passion, but I’ve come to realize that is the furthest from the truth,” said Stratton. 

During her time as an undergraduate at The University of Texas at Austin, Stratton has authored quite the unique story, building a character arc rooted in overcoming doubt, following passions and learning to ride the waves, both literally and figuratively. 

A First-Gen Story

One of five children, the San Antonio native arrived in Austin in the fall of 2022 as a first-generation student faced with the responsibility of financing her college experience, propelling her into a first year filled with long days and nights of studying and working. She dove headfirst into her civil engineering studies.

Stratton’s lifelong desire to help others drew her to the field. Her initial coursework helped her overcome a sense of self-doubt that had previously held her back.

This realization, and the Linford Scholarship she received later in her first year, opened a world of opportunities for Stratton to further explore her academic passions. The gift of time is a present that this Texas Engineer has not taken for granted, and she has the college experience to prove it.  

In her second year, Stratton joined a geotechnical research lab where she tested the applications of a hydrogel material called alginate. Although the lab, overseen by Assistant Professor Berkin Dortdivanlioglu, focused on the use of the material in soil stabilization, Stratton learned that alginate also had biomedical applications in wound healing and tissue repair.  

The flexible nature of this material inspired Stratton and caused her to examine the rigidity of her thought process when it came to her major.  

Even as she continued to lean into her engineering studies, spending a summer “blowing things up” as a drill blast engineering intern at Kiewit and advising department leadership on ways to improve the student experience as co-chair of the Fariborz Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Department Undergraduate Advisory Board, her desire to explore a career in health and medicine lingered. 

“During my internship, I was surrounded by the most amazing people and doing such impactful work. I just had a realization that we were interacting with the city from a very wide view, but we weren’t really interacting directly with the city’s residents themselves. From that experience, I knew I wanted to make a more daily face-to-face impact in my career, and I knew that pursuing medicine would provide that,” said Stratton.  

Not long after she returned from her internship working on a flood mitigation project in a small Maryland town, she learned about a civil engineer who became a doctor. A spark ignited. An epiphany ensued. “This is possible; I can be both,” Stratton realized.  

She quickly researched what courses she would need to take during her remaining semesters to graduate with a pre-health certificate. She spent the following summer scribing for a cardiologist. Stratton was set to enter her fourth year all in. 

One peek at Stratton’s schedule and you may be wondering where sleep falls into the mix. But as she sips on her regular afternoon cup of joe, Stratton assures that she prefers it that way.  

Making Waves 

On the weekends, you’ll find Stratton leaning into the latter part of her motto with the Texas Wakeboarding and Wakesurfing team. It was a chance meeting in her first year that introduced Stratton to this group of “chill” UT students who quickly became her Longhorn family.  

As she strolled down Speedway during UT’s annual fall student organization fair, a shy Stratton came upon a group that was tableless, a stark contrast from the parade of student organizations tabling down the walkway.

What the group lacked in furniture, they made up for with their inviting energy, and extensive surfboard collection. Their friendly aura attracted Stratton, who stopped to chat with the students she’d come to learn were members of Texas Wake. 

“I barely had any wakeboarding experience, but as soon as I met them, I knew immediately that I was going to stick with this for the next four years,” said Stratton.  

And she did. Over many Sundays spent on Lake Travis and camping trips with her best friends, including one she coordinated to Big Bend, the Cockrell student cultivated a tight knit community of friends-turned-family that Stratton, who now serves as president of the team, credits with helping her find her voice. 

“The club is for people that are willing to push their boundaries. Coming into my first year at UT, I was very shy, and I’ve really come out of my shell in the past few years,” Stratton said. “If you had told me as a freshman that I would be on the exec board my senior year, I would’ve thought you were crazy. But now I am. It’s really full circle.” 

As she closes out her final chapters at Cockrell, Stratton hopes that her walk across the Moody Center stage in May signifies not a goodbye, but a “see ya later” to the Forty Acres. The soon-to-be Cockrell graduate expressed these intentions at UT’s annual Volunteer Leadership Committee meeting this past spring, where she was invited to give the opening address. Standing among tables filled with prominent members of the Longhorn community, the Texas Engineer reflected on her collegiate journey, expressing deep gratitude for the opportunities provided through the Linford Scholarship and her education in civil engineering. These opportunities gave her the time, encouragement and confidence to pursue her passions.  

 “The combination of both my research and my internship experiences have shaped my future plans, and I am excited to share that I intend to apply to Dell Medical School after graduation in hopes of becoming a cardiologist working with medical devices, where I can continue making a direct impact on lives.”