This week is Engineers Week, a national recognition of the contribution of engineering professions sponsored by DiscoverE, a group dedicated to increasing K-12 and public understanding of engineering careers. “E-week” serves as a time to celebrate how engineers make a difference in our world, increase public dialogue about the need for engineers, and bring engineering to life for kids, educators, and parents. Again this year, Sain showed our love for engineering by participating in Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day.
Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, also known as Girl Day, is a worldwide campaign dedicated to helping unite, mobilize, and support the engineering and technology communities. The event aims to introduce girls to strong female leaders, help develop their understanding of engineering, and inspire engineering or technical occupations.
At Sain, we have several experienced female engineers on our staff, but engineering is still not a typical path for females. Since we are always excited to talk to young women about our passion for engineering, we believe strongly in the value of Girl Day.
In 2015, we hosted our first Girl Day event at our office. We met with Hewitt-Trussville High School Engineering Academy students and shared stories about the engineering profession and challenging the perceptions girls may already have about the career. Fast forward to 2022, and the event has expanded to include industry groups like the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and other engineering organizations.
Over 125 female students from local middle schools came to the McWane Science Center on February 17th to learn about engineering through demonstrations, educational instruction, and dialogue with professional engineers. The students were from Chelsea, Oak Mountain, Pelham, Phillips Academy, Briarwood Christian School, Irondale, and Montevallo. Women engineers from various companies volunteered their time to show the students a sampling of their daily work.
Sain extends a special thank you to SWE for organizing this event along with other sponsoring organizations:
- AECOM, Inc.
- Atlas Technical Consultants
- Barge Design Solutions
- Bhate
- Birmingham CREW
- CE Associates
- Christy Cobb
- Hazen and Sawyer
- Neel-Schaffer
- Schneider Electric
- Skipper Consulting
- Smith Seckman Reid
- Southern Company
- UAB School of Engineering