INCOMING FEMALE ENGINEERING STUDENTS ADJUST TO COLLEGE WITH EEAP
The incoming female engineering students participating in Old Dominion University's selective Early Engineering Advantage Program (EEAP) will start their studies this month, inspired by a real-life role model.
The Batten College of Engineering and Technology established the EEAP in 2001 to attract, retain and develop female students in the traditionally male-dominated field of engineering. Working with corporations, faculty and other university departments, EEAP students participate in targeted activities that expose them to the field of engineering. It's meant to foster socialization among incoming female students, and allows them to share common experiences with fellow engineering students. The EEAP is credited with helping ODU have the largest percentage of female engineering students of any higher education institution in Virginia.
As part of the program, the aspiring engineers took a tour of WRSystems Ltd. in Norfolk, a leading provider of strategic business consulting services and products for industry and government. During the visit, the students met Mamta Patel Nagaraja, a NASA engineer who manages Women@NASA, an interactive online project that spotlights successful female engineers working at NASA in all fields. Nagaraja, also an adjunct professor at Catholic University, spoke with the ODU students about how to succeed as a female engineer in a traditionally male-dominated profession.
The ODU Career Management Center's Beverly Forbes, director of experiential education and liaison to the Batten College, said it's important for engineering students to see role models who have overcome barriers.
The four-week EEAP program is funded by the Virginia Space Grant Consortium and the Batten College. Throughout the competitive program, 15 incoming female freshman engineering students each summer are exposed to the engineering profession and Batten College curricula in an interactive fashion. The four-week program includes tours of local engineering companies and government agencies.
To continue reading, click here.