Nearly 100 Loudoun County Public Schools students from J. Michael Lunsford Middle School, Mercer Middle School and Willard Middle School participated in Pathways to Engineering Careers, coordinated by the LCPS Office of Computer Science and supported by Microsoft and Loudoun Education Foundation on Wednesday, Oct. 23. The event shared an overview some engineering roles and examples of career pathways with girls who are interested in exploring careers in engineering.
To kick off the event, Microsoft Senior Program Manager Kelly Arnold challenged the students to name prominent scientists. Of the dozen scientists named, the students only named one scientist who was a woman. Arnold shared some statistics to further illustrate her point. “While women make up half of the workforce overall, only 18% of engineering positions are filled by women,” said Arnold. “We all agree these statistics are bad, and we can do better.”
Following the introduction, students had the opportunity to learn more about different types of engineering careers and some of the skills necessary to pursue an engineering career. A panel of engineers, all of whom were women, provided information about their pathways to their careers. Some of the engineers highlighted their non-traditional pathways, while others spoke about their early determination to be an engineer. The core message was that the pathways to careers in engineering can be as varied as the people who pursue the careers.
The students also explored a virtual data center through Cloudcraft, Minecraft’s educational platform. In this simulated setting, students progressed through a series of puzzle-based challenges and learned about the diverse roles that support cloud computing and data centers. Students also learned how to build CAT-5 cables, illustrating the importance of networking infrastructure in ensuring that data travels quickly and securely.
“Gaining exposure to available opportunities is so important to students. They know about coding, but hearing about other career pathways, understanding how cables work or learning about data centers provides a new level of awareness. Events like this light a spark, and you never really know what will develop from that spark. Perhaps something they learn today will inform what they do in the future,” said Willard Middle School Assistant Principal Bill Peterson, who attended the event with students from Willard Middle.
Angie Fraser, a computer science resource teacher, who coordinated this year’s event, said that she appreciates Microsoft’s commitment to helping inform students of career pathways.
“These experiences plant seeds of curiosity and ambition, inspiring the next generation of innovators, engineers, and scientists. By bringing opportunities like Microsoft’s Pathways to Engineering Careers to our students, we are helping to ensure they gain essential skills and insights needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving world,” said Fraser.