Alumni This Young Alum’s Job Is a Real Roller Coaster Ride Stories You May Like Meet the Alum Who Helped Bring ‘Heated Rivalry’ to TV Screens You’ll Recognize this Alum from ‘Undeclared,’ ‘Bones,’ and More Human Ecology Alum Can Tell You How to Get to ‘Sesame Street’ Hayley Sopko Duffy ’16, BS ’17, is director of design and engineering at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, the popular Virginia theme park By Beth Saulnier When Hayley Sopko Duffy ’16, BS ’17, drops her three-year-old son off at daycare, the toddler has been known to declare that he’d rather go to work with her. It’s hard to blame him: after all, his mom helps run one of the nation’s leading theme parks. Duffy is director of design and engineering at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, the Virginia destination that offers adrenaline-pumping roller coasters, family-friendly rides, seasonal festivals, animal exhibits, and more. Located in a popular tourist region that’s also home to the Colonial Williamsburg living museum, the park is divided into areas themed as Western European countries—from a famed interlocking-loop coaster named for Scotland’s Loch Ness Monster to a massive restaurant modeled after a German Oktoberfest, complete with oompah band. Riders on the original version of the Verbolten coaster, which Duffy has been working to retheme. It’s Duffy’s job to oversee capital projects in the 130-acre theme park, as well as at Water Country USA, its sister facility and the largest water park in the state—hiring and working with the vendors who design and build rides, theming elements, lighting, sound systems, and more. “It’s mostly project management, but it’s really fun, because every day you’re out on site looking at something—and it’s not just roller coasters, it’s restaurants, bathrooms, anything in the park,” says the Engineering alum. “It’s a nice, fast-paced environment.” It’s Duffy’s job to oversee capital projects in the 130-acre theme park, as well as at Water Country USA, its sister facility and the largest water park in the state. It’s also one Duffy has been training for since—well—pretty much always. Growing up in New Jersey near Six Flags Great Adventure, she didn’t just love riding roller coasters; she also designed and built them, using toy sets called K’nex. “I was addicted to them,” she recalls with a laugh. “I’d get them for every Christmas and birthday. They’re really cool. They come with a little coaster vehicle, there’s a battery and a chain lift, and you can run the whole ride. I kept making them, and we’d have them all in the basement.” A young Hayley in the family basement with her K'nex empire. While in high school, she worked as a ride operator for Great Adventure’s Kingda Ka—the world’s tallest and fastest coaster when it opened in 2005. She also spent a summer interning on the park’s engineering team, helping build the drop-tower ride Zumanjaro. It’s mostly project management, but it’s really fun, because every day you’re out on site looking at something—and it’s not just roller coasters, it’s restaurants, bathrooms, anything in the park. On the Hill, she majored in mechanical engineering, was on the women’s rugby team, and played baritone horn in the Big Red Marching Band (where she met her future husband, Brendan Duffy ’17). Stories You May Like Meet the Alum Who Helped Bring ‘Heated Rivalry’ to TV Screens You’ll Recognize this Alum from ‘Undeclared,’ ‘Bones,’ and More She also spent an Engineering Co-op term at Premier Rides; owned by fellow alum Jim Seay ’84, it designs, maintains, and upgrades theme park attractions. The gig included visiting one of the company’s then-new coasters: Tempesto, which boasts a 154-foot-high inversion and a top speed of 63 mph. As it happens, Tempesto is located at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, in its Italy section. “I saved my badge that says, ‘Contractor, Premier Rides, Hayley’—and now here I am, working here,” Duffy says. “It’s cool to have that full circle.” After graduation, she spent a year at the defense contractor General Dynamics in Western Massachusetts. In the Marching Band with now-husband Brendan. She joined Busch Gardens (which is owned by the parent company of SeaWorld) as a project manager in summer 2018 and was promoted to director five years later. During a recent leadership transition, Duffy even spent five months as interim VP—a notable role for someone less than a decade out of college. “Every day is different; I’m at a water slide, then a roller coaster, then a restaurant,” she says. “I do love the variety and the novelty. And it’s fun how fast everything happens. In my first job, we’d have 50-year government contracts; now, we come up with an idea and it’s in the park in three months.” Every day is different; I’m at a water slide, then a roller coaster, then a restaurant. I do love the variety and the novelty. Duffy’s job is complicated—in a good way—by Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s status as “the world’s most beautiful theme park,” an honor it has received from the National Amusement Park Historical Association for 35 consecutive years. “We’re always trying to figure out how to keep that,” she admits. “All our projects have to have a good theming budget. We can’t just put up something that’s functional but ugly.” During her tenure, Duffy has worked on a wide variety of projects—from replacing the roof on Escape from Pompeii (a boat ride with fire effects and a 50-foot drop) to retheming Verbolten, an indoor-outdoor coaster reopening in spring 2026. Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a perennial winner of "most beautiful theme park." “I love that roller coasters have this ‘sky’s-the-limit’ feeling,” Duffy observes. “It’s like, ‘Wow, this is what humans can do when they put their brains and resources together.’ That’s really inspiring.” Over at Water Country USA, Duffy has had a hand in numerous projects including High Tide Harbor—a splash-and-play area with 100+ interactive elements—and Riptide Race, a pair of semi-enclosed slides that run side by side. And yes: once a new attraction has completed its many cycles of safety testing, Duffy gets to be among the first humans to ride it. “When you install something and it opens, you want to sneak out into the park and see how guests are interacting with it,” she says. “It definitely puts a smile on my face to see them enjoying what we worked on.” Top: Duffy in front of the park's Pantheon multi-launch coaster. (All images provided.) Published April 7, 2026 Comments carrie gaylord, Class of 1981 7 Apr, 2026 Outstanding article!!! Hayley is such a smart and inspiring young woman, whom I’ve had the opportunity to work with, years ago!! So happy to see Hayley pursue her dream career!!! Reply Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ Other stories You may like Alumni ILR Alum Runs the Premier Talent Agency for Celebrity Pet Influencers Cornelliana Big Red Books, Perfect for Gifting Quizzes & Puzzles November / December ’23 Trivia Roundup