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panel discussion in Kellas Commons

In an ongoing effort to show students the “real world” fruit of their educational pursuits, Emma Willard School welcomed four stellar engineers from GE Vernova to share their wisdom and experiences putting education into action. 

Hannah Bower ’10—who makes a regular practice of bringing her professional expertise back to Emma Willard’s students—was joined by current parent Dr. Voramon Dheeradhada P’25 ’28 and their colleagues Dr. Lana Osusky and Dr. Atinuke Ademola-Idowu in sharing their experiences as women in science and engineering. 

Four women engineers standing together

L-R: Dr. Atinuke Ademola-Idowu (Research Engineer - Model Based Controls), Hannah Bower ’10 (Lead Engineer - Combustion), Dr. Lana Osusky (Technology Manager - Aerodynamics & Thermosciences), and Dr. Voramon Dheeradhada P’25 ’28 (Technology Manager - Materials, Coating, and Modeling)

 

Facilitated by Experiential Learning Department Chair Jon Calos, students Dharaa S. ’26, Grace S. ’26, and Tinisha A. ’25 posed questions to the panelists, covering a range of topics from the importance of interdisciplinary knowledge in being prepared to work in the intersection of different fields to dealing with situations that don’t go according to plan. Here are a few pearls of wisdom from our esteemed panelists.

“Don't think of interdisciplinary as having to be good at many disciplines yourself. At a minimum, be awesome at one thing and know what you bring to the table. But also come with an appreciation for what other people will bring based on what backgrounds they came from.” —Dr. Osusky

“Everything is interdisciplinary once you get into science. Being interdisciplinary means being able to talk to other people. [...] Our teams are very interdisciplinary, where we want people from different backgrounds coming in to solve a problem because they're going to look at the problem slightly differently.” —Ms. Bower

“Keep your curiosity open. [...] It doesn't even matter if a person is in the sciences; just be curious when someone's talking about something cool—how does it work? [You’ll have a greater] overall understanding of what's going on in the world.” —Dr. Ademola-Idowu

“The aspect that I like most about my job is actually solving problems. We are working with really smart people, and what I like about that is you can always come up with a creative idea. Sometimes, the solution that we end up with is a solution that I would never have thought about before. [...] And the problems that we are solving are really affecting the lives of the people out there.” —Dr. Dheeradhada

“As Emma students, I think you're taught to speak your mind. […] The needle is moving, but we're still in a male-dominated field. [...] We'd all like our voices to be heard a little bit more. But all the women that came before us—and us—we're trying to really pave the road where that needle gets moved drastically to make it easier for you guys.” —Ms. Bower

“With anything that I do, I have plan A, plan B, and plan C. [...] First of all, don't panic. Well, panic for five seconds, then calm down; it's okay, take a breath. The ability to ask the right questions is going to help you along the way in terms of coming up with a different solution, coming up with a different way of solving the problem.” —Dr. Dheeradhada

“Failure is a part of the process. The earlier in your careers you get used to failing and being okay with it, the better you will be.” —Dr. Osusky

“One of the things I learned—am still learning—is how to open my mouth to ask for help. [...] There's this thing about wanting to exhaust every possible option such that you are convinced you're not asking a stupid question. And yes, you should do that. But it's a fine balance between wasting too much time trying to dig yourself into a rabbit hole and then climbing your way back out versus going to ask people. Learn to open your mouth and ask questions; ask for help.” —Dr. Ademola-Idowu

 

A group looks at a poster display

Before and after the presentations, audience members had the opportunity to review STEAM 9 and 10 project posters on display throughout the room

 

students talking to professional engineers

After the panel discussion, students had time to talk with the panelists.

 

This presentation is part of a series of learning opportunities presented by the Experiential Learning Department, designed to give students insight into potential careers and disciplines by connecting them with working professionals. The adults share the career path that brought them to this important work, as well as important decisions made along the way. Previous events have highlighted medical careers and biotechnology. 

Future events are in the planning stage; if you would like to share about your professional journey, please contact Jon Calos.

Additional photos on SmugMug 

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