Allow me to introduce my second interviewee, Samantha Burt, affectionately known as Sam. Sam, who happens to be my cousin, embarked on her journey at Penn State about 10 years ago with a clear vision of becoming an engineer. I actually remember when she graduated from college, an event that left a profound impact on me. Since then, her remarkable accomplishments have served as a constant source of inspiration, making me excited to follow in her footsteps. Beyond her professional endeavors, she likes to hike, rock climb, travel, and listen to music. Now let’s get started.

First, I asked her about her childhood.

She grew up in DuBois, PA, with her mom and younger brother. I remember always visiting her on the weekends and playing soccer with her. She explained, “I always liked to play outside and try different sports, so a lot of my friends were boys. There were some times when I wouldn’t hang out with the guys because they liked to play video games and I wasn’t good at them. In my classes, I typically did better than my guy friends and I was eventually placed in the tougher subjects without them. Then in middle school, I made more girl friends because of school sports. Ultimately enjoyed hanging out with both genders but middle school is when I started to notice differences between the friend groups”

I then asked her about what it’s like to be a woman in engineering. What is her work life like?

She said, “It is a fun challenge to work hard with all genders and generations. There have been some meetings where I attend with a salesman and the customer will only talk to the man, even though it’s an engineering question. It’s also fascinating to have a gender-fluid name because people call to talk to Sam, expecting a man, but then hear a female voice. I appreciate working for a company that lets me have an equal opportunity to accomplish tasks and pursue promotions. There have been many roles where I have outperformed my male colleagues for new roles. I am proud of my work ethic to continue to be a strong engineer.”

I then asked how she empowers herself and other women around her.

Sam continued, “I look for development opportunities whenever I can. It is always beneficial to continue learning and utilize this as my strength to work with high-level colleagues. Networking is also a key part of making sure that I have a seat at the table for various topics, even outside of engineering.”

She then went on, “When young women join the organization I try to help them learn the essentials as quickly as possible and I promote strong networking from the beginning. Be curious and ask questions whenever there are topics that you don’t understand. Make sure to be grateful to all of the people who help you academically and professionally. You never know who you will connect with again at the different stages of your life. Be sure to balance your time to work hard and still find time to do the things that you enjoy. It’s okay to be nervous while starting something new. You’ll learn so much more than if you never started that task at all.”