LOS ANGELES — Engineering classes can be challenging for students like Stephanie Turcios, but she says getting a degree in mechanical engineering is worth it.
That’s because once she does, she’ll be the first female engineer in her family.
“I was pretty scared because I thought maybe I was not good enough. Thankfully, I had my grandpa and my uncle, who are also engineers supporting me,” Turcios said.
She’s currently a junior at California State University, Long Beach and is noticing how much it is a male-dominated field.
“I see more females in my classes, but there still are a lot of males in there. But, at least like here, it’s been very welcoming,” she said.
As the fifth largest producer of engineers in California, and to encourage more women like Turcios to get into the industry, CSULB held the third annual 2023 BEACH Women in Engineering conference.
CSULB College of Engineering dean Jinny Rhee said she wants to see more women with STEM degrees and to also stay in the workforce.
“We’re still at about 20% of engineering and computer science programs nationwide. That percentage has barely budged since the 30 or more years since I graduated myself and that’s really disconcerting to me,” Rhee said. “I really feel as a dean, it’s my job to do something about it now.”
About 150 students and 80 speakers like Jill Anderson, the executive vice president of operations for Southern California Edison, took part in the conference to encourage more women to pave the way for their own careers.
“One issue is the absence of role models. That’s partly why I choose to be so public with my job, where I come out on a weekend in order to talk to groups of students like this. I want them to see that there are people who look like them who are succeeding in these roles,” Anderson said.
Women packed the conference. Now, Turcios hopes to see more with her in a classroom.
“I think seeing more women would motivate me more on like, ‘We can do this together. We could do it. You know, it’s possible.’ So, it would be nice to see that,” she said.