A woman who used to be a cheerleader and now a missile engineer!
Spectrum the main magazine of IEEE society in March of 2004 published an interesting article of a woman who is currently systems engineer at Lockheed Martin missiles and fire control in Orlando, Florida.
The story goes like this:
Being a woman in a male dominated field is just one way Olson stands out. When the honor society Eta Kappa Nu awarded Olson its outstanding Young Electrical Engineer Award in 2001, it cited not only her numerous professional achievement but also her skill as a sketch artist and photographer. “People suggest that you are either really creative and artistic or very logical and organized and scientific,” Olson says. “I do not hold to that philosophy-actually, the creativity helps to stimulate the scientific nature.” Growing up in Ohio, Olson says she was interested in anything having to do with math and science. She credits her father with getting her thinking about engineering. A Vietnam vet who earned a degree in mechanical engineering while holding down a full-time job.
Olson didn’t follow exactly in her dad’s footsteps, though. When she enrolled at Write State University, in Dayton, Ohio, she opted instead to study electrical engineering— “I guess that is the rebel in me”, she jokes. Though she was an honor student, she also left plenty of time for extracurricular. “I was involved in everything, I was a cheerleader. I was president of student honor society. I was in all kind of different clubs.
Upon graduation in 1989, Olson did not have a clear idea of how she would use her education. But having recently gotten engaged, she decided to follow her fiancé to Pennsylvania State University, in University Park, where he was a grad student. It occurred to Olson that she might also get a master’s degree while she was there, so she applied to the EE program. The department came back with an offer for a three-year teaching fellowship if she got her Ph.D.
“I hadn’t thought of getting a Ph.D. so I was thrilled,” Olson recalls. “And I had no idea what it entailed.” A more pleasant surprise came when she began working at Penn state’s Applied Research Laboratory. Though that research she got her firs real taste of engineering. “We actually built torpedoes and tested them against real subs,” She says. “I loved the application of science and math.”
Then she lands a job at Lockheed. As a wife and mother of three Olson says joggling the demands of work and home can be tough. “Lockheed is good about that, but you also have to be willing to stand your ground. There are times when people say, “You need to work on your off day.” On the other hand, if your child is sick, you take off and take care of them.” When necessary, Olson does put 12-hour days, and sometimes even longer ones. During a recent business trip to conduct wind tunnel tests on a new aircraft-mounted weapons system, the team had to work 16 hour days. “You just do it,” She says. Making time for yourself is also key, she says. Olson enjoys drawings and has entered her work in local competitions, she is also been teaching herself woodcarving and guitar. “Whether you have kids, or dogs, or you like to golf, it is important to be balanced.”
The story does not finish here. However, I would like to summarizeit here. There are several points in the story in my opinion. First of all, we should know that we live in 3D world; consequently, we should be also acting like a person who lives 3-dimensional world. So, be alert that you do not live your life in 1D or not even 2D and then regret your entire life. Second of all, if we want to have a developed society, we need to develop people who live first, on the other hand investing on people and have them adequately fostered. For doing so, we have to have a compassionate and caring family as well as other parts of society. Society is alike chain and if one does not work appropriatly, others also may get corrupted. The last not the least, Hey you, yes you, get married as soon as you can!!!
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