Working to Make Education Affordable

Industrial engineering alumna establishes endowment to help lower tuition costs for students in need

by Charlotte Tallman

Dawn Posey dreamed of a career in aerospace engineering when she transferred from Palomar Community College in San Marcos, California, to Cal Poly in 1987. Instead, she switched to a career in industrial engineering which took her all over the world and led to a 26-year career at Honeywell International Inc., one of the world’s largest industrial conglomerates.

In Posey’s first year, she took a foundry class as part of the aerospace curriculum and became intrigued by industrial engineering. “It really started me thinking about switching majors. An unexpected benefit of the switch, I met more women who were studying to become engineers which made my desire to be an engineer not seem so crazy.”

Posey graduated in 1989 with an industrial engineering degree and worked for General Dynamics Corp. as an industrial engineer on the MD-11, a wide-body jet airliner. After a year on the job, Posey returned to Cal Poly’s newly formed engineering management program and earned a master’s degree in engineering management and business administration. Posey was hired into Honeywell’s Professional Excellence Program.

At the end of an almost three-decade-long career, Posey led a global cross-functional customer experience team for Honeywell’s Safety and Productivity Solutions business.

“The whole Learn by Doing focus was way more valuable than I originally thought. It wasn’t just a saying; it was a way of life,” Posey said. With that focus in mind, Posey accepted a two-week process mapping role in Brussels, Belgium, which turned into a multiyear assignment where Posey established a greenfield customer care center and deployed field service technology. “My Cal Poly Learn by Doing experience allowed me to say yes, confidently, to these opportunities.”

Posey, who often gave $100 here and there to Cal Poly, realized she wanted to do more after seeing the experience of two nieces who failed to get funding for their educations. She created the Posey Family Scholarship, a $56,000 endowment to support women in industrial and manufacturing engineering. “I realized it wasn’t as affordable to pay for tuition as it was when I went to school. I want to help lower some of the financial barriers students face, especially those who find it hard to qualify for traditional academic and financial scholarships,” she said. “Now, I always encourage others who talk about giving back, not to wait as long as I did to give. The sooner you start, the longer it will have to build up, and the sooner it will start having an impact.” ■