Who would you say were your biggest female influences growing up?

Growing up, one of my biggest female influences was Rosa Parks and everything she did to fight for equality.

Also, Marie Curie, who worked with her husband to discover radioactivity.

Without a doubt, my mom has been the single most influential female person in my life. While she did not have a degree and was a housewife or homemaker, I saw my mom engage in various types of problem-solving techniques using innovative and creative ways to ensure all her children had everything they needed on a shoe-string budget. I admired her creativity the most in the face of daunting challenges and her sheer determination to find a solution in spite of circumstances. She saw the problem from a number of angles and optimized each aspect to find the best solution. Her example laid the foundational principles of my engineering career.

Attributing one person to the "engineer" or person I am today is not feasible.

Role models and influences in your life are all around you and although there may be some key individuals that mark your path, it is really the culmination of many individuals which shape your work ethic.

For me, I guess I have to start with my mom and dad who set examples of being dedicated and committed to your responsibilities in life. Others I can think of are:

• A High School English teacher, who is fighting cancer, showed up everyday for her students
• The military instructors who encouraged me, stating testing proved I had an aptitude for engineering and electronics. While I had no confidence in my abilities.
• My own perseverance in the face of a critical military mission, with lives in the balance depending on my ability to resolve serious Air to Ground communications.
• Supervisors and Managers who had faith in me and encouraged me to venture outside my comfort zone.
• My children who supported me in pursuit of supplemental education classes, while they themselves were going to school and I was a single parent.
• The supervisors and managers who reach out to me now because my reputation precedes me on projects.
• The stranger who paid for my lunch out of the blue - inspired me to turn my worries and concerns outward to make a difference in someone else's day.
• The teenagers I mentor, who help me understand and learn new technologies -- amazes me the youth comprehension and use of AI applications and ingenuity in use.

It is never one individual, but all the individuals that you surround yourself with, that will influence your future. Negativity breeds negative. Surround yourself with positive people.

I was so fortunate to have two parents who valued education and who wanted their three daughters to be whatever those daughters wanted to be. My mother was a school teacher in my youth, and I had her for science in the 6th and 8th grades. Neither of my parents were engineers, but when my mother went back to school for a PhD (in marriage and family therapy -- not science, or engineering!) during my high school and first year of college, from that point on it seemed completely normal to me for smart women to obtain a PhD (or other advanced degree -- my two sisters are MDs) in whatever they wanted to study and were good at.

My female 8th grade algebra teacher was awesome, and solidified my love of math (which became my undergrad major). From college on, though, it seems that my main role models were men. My male dissertation advisor was completely gender- and ethnicity-blind, and just supported his students no matter who they were or where they came from.

I know that my particular heritage is a blessing that not everyone has had, but I would say that a role model or mentor is anyone -- engineer or otherwise, female or otherwise -- who encourages and helps you to fulfill your potential.

When I was growing up, I did not have any female role models, but I had many role models that were male. It shaped in my mind that we are all the same and gender should not play a role. This allowed me to look and view myself as an engineer, and not a female engineer. I never thought I was any different. It worked for me and helped build me into a strong engineer.

I would reach out to both male and female. There certainly are differences, good to be aware, but not needed to focus on. Focus on learning everything, taking it all in, notice the difference between people, all people, don't stereotype, just learn.

If you are interested in engineering, try connecting with all aspects of technology and technologists, not just engineers. There are groups to reach out to, from Society of Women Engineers to IEEE, ASME, and other professional organizations. I would reach out to any community college or universities in your area, or even on line, until you get someone to help you connect with people or groups. You can try cold calling some businesses in your area that perform engineering. You may have to try a bit before you connect. You can also try your school teachers and counselors.

Networking takes reaching out, attending events, and not giving up. It might feel like you are getting more 'no response' than help, but what matters is that you eventually DO make the connection. Once you start making these connections, it will grow, as long as you keep asking.

My most important female influencers were 4 women:

• my 4th grade teacher, Sister Mary Emmanuel;
• my mother, Min;
• my Girl Scout leader, Mrs. Taeyerts;
• and my Archery Coach, Mrs. Panagiataras.

My biggest female influence was definitely my mother. She helped me so much in my career. But it's not in the manner you would think. She only attended school until she was in 8th grade due to her mother dying when she was young. Her two older sisters were already in high school, so they got to finish and she took care of the household and younger children because she was one of 11 and had many younger siblings. I'm not sure why my mom was so wise, but she taught me a lot of emotional intelligence that helped me when being one of only a few women became difficult. She taught me not to react and told me never to allow my reaction to others lower my personal standards. What a difference that made for me! My point in sharing this is that even if you don't have another female in your life who has been in engineering, you may have some people who have a lot of knowledge about working with people and they will also help you!

On the topic of finding other role models, do you have a person in your life who has been highly successful in their career? They might also help you navigate situations, even starting at university. Most female engineers I know are happy to meet with a young aspiring engineer, so reach out to people you know to see if they are acquainted with someone who could mentor you.

Good luck!

Unfortunately, I don’t have a female who helped me get into my engineering role. I had a great male mentor, though, who taught me things outside of my job to give me a wider picture of infrastructure along the way. He expanded my knowledge by doing so without bias.

I have one female I have always admired for her strength and grace combined. Audrey Hepburn greatly impacted me when I learned about her philanthropy and intense kindness while still being a style icon. I love style, and sometimes that contradicts the stereotype of an engineer. I appreciate the women who embrace both with strength and grace.

By far, my largest influencers were my teachers which started with my 1st and 2nd grade teacher who taught me that just because I didn’t like doing something, I should still strive to do it the best I could. She knew I could have better penmanship, but wasn’t trying, so she gave me a C in penmanship. For a student who expected all A’s, I was shocked. She told my parents that she knew I could write better, but it didn’t interest me so I didn’t give it my best effort. After that wake up call, I sure did.

My next largest influencer was my HS Chemistry teacher who recognized that I had a affinity for math and science and strongly encouraged me to look into engineering and even recommended a school where I could co-op and be able to afford my education. Without her guidance and support, I doubt I would have taken the path I did.

Beyond these direct influencers, I always admired Madame Curie, Florence Nightengale - women who did what their heart led them to do regardless of their gender. More recent women that fit this bill are RGB, Margaret Thatcher, Mary Barra and countless other female executives who march forward without guardrails and succeed marvelously.