Morgan Hokinson walks into her welding class, where she gets to work hands-on with her materials and learn how things get made. Getting to learn the manufacturing side of engineering rather than just the mathematics is really interesting to her, and the versatility of her chosen major allows her to have her pick of all sorts of career paths.
Morgan Hokinson, a current senior in an engineering program at Northern Illinois University shares her story on how she got into computer-aided design and project management. As a woman in a male-dominated field, her experience has been different than most others.
“I have one certificate in AutoCAD solidworks and Creo, and an overall certification in computer aided design,” Hokinson says. “A lot of my classes there are mostly setting me up for project management, which is really very interesting to me.”
What’s one misconception about your field that you wish more people understood?
“I feel like there’s a lot of times where programs won’t show you both sides of engineering and they only show the mathematics or the hands-on side,” Hokinson says. “So I like that the program kind of split up both of these things, and it’s a lot easier to understand when you know both sides.”
What has been your biggest challenge in your field so far and how did you overcome it?
“I feel like this is kind of a given,” Hokinson says, “and everybody almost expects or anticipates it, but in a solid 90% of my classes, if not more, I have been either the only girl if not one of two.”
Being one of the few, if not the only girls in the room, it can add a lot of pressure to do well in those classes.
“When I screw up, I put so much pressure on myself. Especially being the only girl because I’m almost trying to prove a point,” Hokinson says. “Then when I mess things up, it’s almost like I’m proving people right when they say that girls can’t do that.”
“I think I’ve gotten pretty lucky in my program,” Hokinson says. “Despite this, many people say that women aren’t respected–and I will say that I have seen that and I have, unfortunately, been disrespected just because I’m the only girl in the room. People with closed minds think that I’m not capable of doing the same things as a guy. But at the same time, it is really cool and fulfilling when I prove them wrong, and they often gain respect for me because then they realize, ‘Oh, this girl can actually do this.’”
What’s some advice you would give young women who plan on going into STEM, based on your experiences?
“Number one: don’t be afraid to make mistakes,” Hokinson says. “That’s something that I have to remind myself of all the time. It feels so cliche, but it’s so genuine,”
“The biggest part is just making sure that you correct your mistakes the right way,” Hokinson continues. “My favorite thing is it’s not about the situation, it’s how you handle the situation.”