Women in Engineering
Women in Engineering (WIE) is an outreach program for 10th and 11th grade high school girls held every year on the Friday before Thanksgiving. Our primary goal is to introduce girls to what an engineer does, what kinds of engineering careers are available, and explain how engineers help the world in general.
The WIE program started with a pilot program in 2006 and has now expanded to several schools in the area. Female engineering students from the WIE Freshman Interest Group as well as the Society of Women Engineers act as guides and mentors throughout the day and encourage the attendees to ask questions and get involved. The day is filled with hands-on and interactive activities/workshops that feature different careers in engineering. These workshops are run by either practicing female engineers from the Erie area or our own Penn State engineering students and faculty members. Lunch is served and a featured speaker will share their engineering experiences with the attendees.
The Women in Engineering program is partly supported by the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and the company representatives that participate in this program. Past participants include:
- GE, Transportation, Women in Technology Group
- Lord Corporation
- Nuvo, Inc.
Any female engineers from the area are welcome to participate in the day and get involved with the program.
Please contact Melanie Ford at mrf11@psu.edu or at (814) 898-6685 with any questions or inquiries.
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