In February, I attended Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (IGED), and it opened my eyes to a new world of possibilities for my future. Before I attended, engineering seemed like a tiny sliver in the window of possibilities for my future. But now, IGED has shined a light on it.
After a short bus ride to Wichita State University, a handful of South High students entered WSU’s Rhatigan Student Center. Nearly 100+ girls from local high schools entered WSU’s Begg’s Ballroom that morning. Each of them was met with a female college student who was currently studying engineering and female mentors at each of their tables.
Before we began learning from experienced engineers, we were welcomed with an introduction from Dr. Anthony Muscat. Dr. Muscat is the dean of Wichita State University’s College of Engineering and he started by asking us a question: “How many things on each of your tables were made by engineers?” My mind went immediately to the phones, my camera, and maybe even the breakfast snacks we were all enjoying. However, I was amazed to learn that everything that sat on our tables was made by engineers. The pamphlets that talked about the events, the tote bags we were gifted, and even the chairs and tables we sat at.
When the event started, we were introduced to keynote speaker, Melissa Rocha. Melissa is a 2022 graduate of WSU, and she studied biomed. As of now, she works at Biosense Webster as a clinical account specialist. She shared a few words of encouragement, answering questions about her experience and career.
After Melisa spoke, students were directed to leave the ballroom to attend an industry fair. Several female representatives from different engineering companies like Spirit and Pfizer greeted us and answered questions about what they did, and how it connected to engineering. The thing that surprised me the most was how diverse engineering was. It wasn’t just working with your hands, but working in other fields like design, environmental, and medical.
When the industry fair was over, we headed back to the ballroom to hear Cindy Hoover speak. Cindy is a former WSU graduate and a professional engineer who has seen engineering change a lot since the beginning of her career.
Once her speech was over, we were introduced to student-led engineering organizations that future students could participate in if they decided to go to Wichita State. One example of a group was the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), whose goal is to “…increase the number of culturally responsible black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community.”
The 2020 Census reported that only 9-32% of all females are professional engineers, a statistic that IGED is striving to change. IGED doesn’t just want to encourage engineering degrees for young women, but STEM degrees too. By holding these events and showing what engineering could look like for a future student, they are expanding the needed female influence in engineering and creating a better future for our world.
Sources
https://www.wichita.edu/academics/engineering/k12/_documents/IGED_Program.pdf
