The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) has named February 23 Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, a program to “help focus a growing movement to inspire girls’ futures so they learn they have a place in engineering a better world. Give girls the chance to think like an engineer and you’ll be amazed at what you learn!” according to the NSPE website.
Lehigh has a unique spin on showing girls how much fun engineering and science can be — the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science’s CHOICES (Charting Horizons and Opportunities In Careers in Engineering and Science) program. For one day in the spring and a weeklong day camp in the summer, middle-grade girls come to Lehigh to learn that science is not only accessible to everyone, but it’s also fun, challenging, interesting, and … cool!
Natalie Maroun ’21 ’23G, B.S. in IDEAS (Integrated Degree in Engineering, Arts and Sciences) and M.S. in mechanical engineering, came to CHOICES as an eighth-grader and discovered not just a love of engineering but an educational journey and career. She landed a job as an essentials of manufacturing process engineer with Saint Gobain, an international manufacturing company that makes everything from window glass and ceiling tiles to plastics and medical devices.
Do you credit the CHOICES program with leading you to engineering?
I do! A lot of the men in my family are in technical fields, and the women are teachers, so I didn’t really know that engineering was an option. My dad (who is an engineer) was insistent that I try out something new during the summer before high school, just to see what was out there for me. I did a week of CHOICES and fell in love with it!
What was so great about it?
I immediately fell in love with the hands-on opportunities and the different people I got to meet. Lehigh created a really unique environment for CHOICES because the program is run not only by engineers but also all the engineering students who are women. It really exposed me to all the opportunities for a woman in engineering. I ended up working for CHOICES, first as a junior mentor every summer, then for two years while I was at Lehigh as a full-time mentor running parts of the program.
What part of the program sparked your interest as an eighth-grader?
We did a thermodynamics project with Professor Hannah Dailey. She had cast molds made of steel, aluminum, and plastic. She took big ice blocks and put them in the different molds, and we would see how fast each would melt. It taught us about thermodynamics and how heat transfers. We also got to use all of the drilling and milling machines, and they showed us how dye-casting and injection-molding works. It was so much fun!
How important is it to expose girls to engineering and the sciences?
So important! Women have a lot of untapped potential in engineering and science because they are creative and have different ways of looking at problems. Engineering is basically problem-solving, so it’s great to have a lot of different perspectives. It’s important to empower girls to see that they can make a huge impact in our society and our future as engineers, designers, inventors, and collaborators. I think we need more of that in the STEM field especially!
What’s your dream job?
I used to say I wanted to go to space, but that made my mom a little nervous. I love working in a technical field but also one where I get to interact with people. My goal is to work in a higher-level engineering position where I get to lead projects and teams.
What did you love about Lehigh?
When I was looking at colleges, I’d say, “I want to be an engineer, but I also want to sing.” Most places told me I couldn’t do both. Lehigh said, “OK, what else do you want to do?” I was able to travel internationally with our choirs (Lehigh University Choir and Dolce), learn engineering, study abroad, work on research projects — just a perfect mix of everything I wanted to do. Lehigh gave me every opportunity I was looking for.
