IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2013 - 121
Figure 1. Members of Virginia Tech's Hypatia program.
and Global Solutions Division. In 2008,
I graduated from Virginia Tech with a
bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and a second major in computer
engineering. After college, for more
than two years, I was a software engineer with Lockheed Martin's Skunk
Works Division in California. In 2011, I
decided it was the right time for me to
get involved with my family's engineering design and manufacturing business,
Thomas Instrumentation Inc. For the
past year, I have been involved in hardware and software design, management, billing, quoting, and even the
running of our surface-mount production equipment.
During my time in college, I started
getting involved in programs that were
meant to inspire and mentor kids in the
fields of math, science, and engineering.
I joined these programs because of Vir-
Figure 2. Photos from the WIE robotics challenge held in New Jersey in April 2011.
ginia Tech's themed-housing program,
Hypatia, for female engineers (Figure 1).
The Hypatia program houses all of its
participants in one dormitory, and it
operates on two levels. The purpose of
the freshman level of Hypatia is to provide women with a supportive, fun
environment in which they can adjust to
college life without feeling isolated in a
male-dominated field. The second level
of Hypatia is for sophomore women
who have already participated in the
program as freshman. These sophomore Hypatians are responsible for
mentoring new freshman, coordinating
social events, and supporting the
younger women. In my freshman year,
there were approximately 60 women in
the Hypatia program enrolled in a
variety of majors, such as electrical,
chemical, and mechanical engineering,
all living together. In my sophomore
year, there were closer to 100 women in
the program. As a second-year Hypatian, it was rewarding to mentor so
many women who were just as excited
about engineering as I was. Almost all of
the Hypatian women I knew graduated
from Virginia Tech with an engineering
degree, and many of
us are still close
friends to this day.
The Hypatia program really encourages its participants
to inspire younger
generations to study
engineering. Since I
enjoyed mentoring
others as a secondyear Hypatian, I
chose to volunteer at
a FIRST Lego League
competition. The
FIRST Lego League
is a robotics challenge for children
aged 9-16 years. I
volunteered too late
to be a mentor, but I
was able to offer
assistance on challenge day and see the
great effort some
teams put into their
work. I was blown
March 2013
*
IEEE ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION MAGAZINE
*
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