Women Engineers: Many Paths to a Rewarding Life
Lauren Varona ‘08
Well-rounded
“One of the things I really love to do is keep being well rounded. I don’t like to focus only on engineering. I feel like I’d really stress myself out if I did that.”
B.S. student in Mechanical Engineering.
I’ve known I wanted to be an engineer since sixth grade. I was on math team in fifth
grade. I really loved competing and loved doing math. Even in third grade, when we did those timed math tests, I loved doing those, I had a great time!
One of the things I really love to do is keep being well rounded. I don’t like to focus only on engineering. I feel like I’d really stress myself out if I did that. Everyone believes engineers don’t have time to do anything and we’re all studying constantly. We do study a lot because the professors aren’t just going to hand out a degree. They want to make sure you will do well in the real world because the things you design or build will affect many people’s lives. They make it challenging, but it’s not anything you can’t do. It’s very possible.
I was born and raised in Miami. I lived on the beach for a while. It was kind of hard coming up here. But, I wanted something completely different. I wanted to live in the snow.
It was a tough transition for me, my first impressions were, “Wow, I’m in this huge place by myself,” but once I started becoming more involved within BU and the College of Engineering, then I really started to find my place and become much more comfortable. I became a Dean’s Host for engineering and a student advisor. I joined the Hispanic club La Fuerza, and Danzon, a Hispanic dance group. I’m also on the step squad, called Tru Sole, and I have a part-time job.
Right now I’m in Heat Transfer, Mechanics and Materials, Mechanics II, Materials Science, and AutoCad Design Part II. Yeah, it’s kind of a lot -- five engineering classes in one semester. You really have to be on your toes. Toward the end of the semester, there were times when I was thinking, “Why am I doing this, again?” and then I remind myself, “I want to do this. I love engineering, it opens doors to anything.”
My plan is to join Teach for America when I graduate. I really want to go out there and encourage women to come into engineering. I feel like a lot of people are scared to come into engineering because everyone thinks it’s really hard. So it’d be good to say, “No, it’s really possible. Try it first, and you’ll see.”
