Today is International Women in Engineering Day (#INWED)! This year marks a full decade since earning an Aerospace Engineering degree, launching my journey as a woman engineer. So, what does it feel like as a woman engineer today, in 2020? It probably comes as no surprise that women are still the minority in most engineering fields, mine included. The real statistics? At my first job out of college , women made up 10% of my group and that percentage came from only one woman: me. There were a handful of other women scattered throughout the rest of the organization but it was probably around 10% at best. I relied solely on men to teach me how to interact with military officers, when to speak up in meetings, how to don and doff flight gear and talk on the radio, how to avoid red-out during aerobatics, how to take engineering notes during night flights, how to setup and run data, how to run a pre-flight and post-flight briefing, how to conduct myself at customer sites, how to layer up an
"We do not give our GO lightly. There are risks on this mission, but we are ready, and it is time to fly." - Zeb Scoville, ISS Flight Director for DM-2 Mission I've had nine years to think about what I would write on this day, but my feelings are still hard to put into words. Nine years ago the shuttle made its final journey into space leaving America reliant on Russian rockets and technology to reach the International Space Station. Back then I was a new Flight Test Engineer , dreaming about space but still learning the ropes in experimental helicopters. I wasn't married, I didn't have any kids, I was only halfway through a Masters degree. I would never have predicted what my life would look like today, as I sat in awe, tears streaming down my face -- an American rocket once again launched with humans on board, headed to the ISS. 2020 has been tumultuous. It's been hard and unpredictable. It's been a year of isolation and heartache. It's been divisi