By Cecilia Ramirez
Abbie Dean's internship during her time at ODU has led directly to a full-time job at Kimley-Horn (KH), in Virginia Beach, Va. According to the company's website, KH is, "one of the nation's premier planning, engineering, and design consulting firms, with nearly 3,500 staff members in more than 80 offices across the U.S. [They] offer full services in a wide range of disciplines." In her job, Dean is responsible for signal timing optimization, information traffic fiber audits and multimodal lane management.
Dean graduated in May from Old Dominion University's Batten College of Engineering and Technology (BCET) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering and a minor in Engineering Management.
A Delaware native, Dean's parents moved from Pennsylvania to Delaware because of their jobs. Dean graduated high school from Padua Academy, an all-girl Catholic high school in Wilmington, Del. In middle school she knew she liked science and math subjects, and she excelled in these subjects with ease and confidence. Dean considered becoming a veterinarian, but that course changed as she approached high school, when her parents introduced her to engineering. Both her mother and father worked in the transportation field and they understood that exposing her to various professions and industries would broaden her horizon to explore her full potential.
In preparation for college, Dean toured and visited several colleges, until she came to Old Dominion University and she and her parents met Ms. Bonita Anthony. Anthony, an academic advisor, who at that time was part of the staff coordinating the college visits, helped change her mind. Dean says that Anthony immediately became a great resource for her and her parents, providing an overview of the engineering program. Dean was impressed by how personable Anthony was.
"I felt that I mattered and that Ms. Anthony was interested in me, as an individual, and as a student," Dean said. "I have been to several colleges and universities, and it was important for me to see diversity in engineering. Being a female in a field that is mostly men, it was nice to see the possibility of me thriving in that environment," Dean added.
According to the National Science Foundation, 84% of working professionals in science and engineering jobs in the U.S. are white or Asian males, while national statistics show that the majority enrolled in undergraduate engineering programs are men. Only 18 percent of women earned a bachelor's degree in engineering, of which 8% are Hispanic and 4% are black women.
To this day, Anthony serves as a mentor for Dean. "Ms. Anthony has always been there for me, to encourage me during challenging times. She frequently reminded that I have come too far not to succeed."