Whenever I mention to people that I am studying engineering, they always seem to comment on the fact that I am a female studying engineering, a traditionally male-dominated field. Surprisingly, this is something I rarely notice in my day-to-day life.
I remember applying to college and everyone talking about the representation of females in many engineering schools. One of the things that stood out about USC’s Viterbi was that 30% of the school was female compared to many other school’s having females represent less than 20% of their engineering school’s student body. This high percentage really attracted me to Viterbi because I knew I would be warmly welcomed as a female in engineering at Viterbi.
In Viterbi, there are so many women in my engineering classes, that being in those classes doesn’t feel any different than being in my general education classes. As I mentioned above, women are very well represented in Viterbi. In fact, there is a higher ratio of females to males in my engineering classes at USC than there were in many of my math and science classes in high school. So if anything, it feels as if there are more females than normal at Viterbi because of what I have been used to.
Lastly, joining a sorority was a great choice for me for many reasons, one being that it enabled me to meet many girls inside and outside of Viterbi (Yes, engineers can be in sororities). This helped ensure I kept my “girly side” while studying engineering. Although I go to classes for a “male-dominated” field all day, I go home to a house full of 55 girls, keeping my life pretty balanced.
Until next time,
Me and my friend Corinne, an ISE and Spirit Leader!
Me and my sorority sister, Tiffany, a chemical engineer!
