Reaching out

Outreach, mentorship opportunities help attract women to engineering

By Olivia Gravel

FARGO – Women in engineering traditionally have been underrepresented. Outreach and mentorship can be keys to inspiring young women to consider engineering careers. Both played a role in my decision to become an engineer.

I’ve been fortunate to have incredible mentors. The first was my dad. He was a high school principal who inspired me to always look for ways to do things safer, better and more cost effectively. He ingrained in me the qualities of organization and efficiency.

I also was influenced by outreach projects. BEST Robotics, hosted by North Dakota State University’s College of Engineering, is what triggered my interest in engineering. My school took part in the robotics competition when I was in seventh and eighth grade. My team title was Morale Leader. The notes I wrote to myself said, “I want to be the morale leader because I love efficiency, organization and working hard.”

Those traits have served me well as I prepare for my career.

Outreach programs and mentorship helped develop my problem solving and communication skills. They’ve also helped boost my confidence.

I continue to be influenced by mentors and involved in outreach as an industrial engineering student at NDSU. This year, I am president of the student chapter of the Society of Women Engineers, or SWE. Our 100plus members work with faculty, staff and corporate partners to attract women who are considering engineering and other STEM fields.

We, along with the College of Engineering, run a variety of outreach events throughout the year. We have programs for girls in grades K-12. Our goal is to introduce girls to the STEM disciplines, give them hands-on experiences and make possible positive interactions with female engineering role models.

A great example of combining outreach and mentorship is Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, which annually brings together hundreds of eighth-grade girls, current engineering students and professionals. More than 300 students visited NDSU and area engineering companies last January.

The day began at NDSU, where students took part in two engineering activities led by SWE students and representatives from partner engineering firms Moore Engineering, KLJ, John Deere, SRF Consulting Group Inc., Bobcat, Appareo and Microsoft.

The students and female engineers, who serve as mentors, worked together to solve problems, learn about engineering and have fun.

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day is one of many regular outreach programs SWE hosts. Others include: Mommy, Me and SWE is a one-day event for girls in grades K-2 and their moms to learn about engineering and STEM fields by doing a variety hands-on activities.

Dads and Daughters Do Science is a one-day event for girls in grades K-2 and their dads to explore the different branches of science, including biology, chemistry and physics.

TechGirls is a 10-week after-school program for girls in grades 3-5. They are introduced to a different type of engineering each week and do a project.

Girls Expanding Engineering Knowledge is an eight-week program for girls in grades 6-8. It is similar to TechGirls, except that students will learn more about each topic and work on more advanced projects.

POWER, which stands for Preparing Outstanding Women for Engineering Roles, is a mentorship program for girls who are considering a STEM career. They are able to talk to female NDSU engineering students to learn more about what it means to be an engineer.

Expanding Your Horizons is a one-day conference for girls in grades 7-9 that provides more than 50 hands-on workshop sessions at places throughout Fargo-Moorhead.

SWE and College of Engineering outreach programs reach more than 3,500 students and hundreds of teachers each year. More than 20 companies and 500 employees offer thousands of volunteer hours each year. The positive feedback we get from the students, parents and companies we work with inspires us to develop more outreach programs and opportunities to provide mentorship.

Our task is to help encourage, empower and challenge girls to consider engineering. Together, we hope to have an impact on younger generations. PB

Olivia Gravel INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING STUDENT, NDSU PRESIDENT, NDSU CHAPTER OF THE SOCIETY OF WOMEN ENGINEERS

mentioned his volunteer work with Angel Flight Central, encouraging Hammes to apply for assistance through the program. He did so, and soon learned Reimers was able to give him rides to Minneapolis for surgery. The flights were only two hours long, compared to the six hours it would’ve taken to drive. Because sitting for long periods of time was painful for Hammes, the quicker trip was nice, he says. And because the surgeries were outpatient care, he was able to make the visits in one day, cutting down on the expense of a hotel room.

“This guy (Reimers) is just amazing. He went above and beyond the call of friendship,” Hammes says. “He was willing to drop what he was doing to help me out. An incredible person who wants to help people who are sick and in need.”

Like Reimers, many Basin Electric employees are community minded, and the cooperative encourages them to volunteer for area events such as the United Way Day of Caring, Rebuilding Together, and United Way’s Backpack Program. In fact, being encouraged to volunteer is something many employees view as one of the many perks of being employed there.

Reimers says this dedication to the communities it serves is one of the things he appreciates most about working at Basin Electric. “Serving the community is just part of its culture,” he says. “It makes me feel like what I’m doing is nothing out of place. I’m just doing something I like, and doing it for people who need help. I am so proud I can make their lives a little bit easier during a time when they need it the most.”