On Tuesday, March 17, undergraduate students in the Olivet Nazarene University chapter of Society of Women Engineers (SWE) organization welcomed 60 middle school-aged girls from the surrounding area to campus for the University’s annual Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day event. Hosted in Reed Hall of Science, this event offered 6th-8th grade girls the opportunity to connect with college students who are currently pursuing degrees in engineering.
Inspiring Introductions
Similar to related fields of science, technology and mathematics, women are typically underrepresented across all engineering disciplines. The purpose of this outreach event was to encourage young females to engage in fun engineering activities with the hope that they might one day consider a career in engineering.
Olivet’s SWE chapter is primarily comprised of women engineering students; however, any undergraduate student who is interested may attend events or join the association. For this event, council members were responsible for planning activities for attendees to observe or participate in. Other members and volunteers helped to explain or facilitate each demonstration and to manage the flow of the event. There was administrative support, but the bulk of the event was planned and executed by 24 female undergraduate students.
“I am really proud of the women engineers,” said Jenny Adams, the engineering department’s program specialist, who helped coordinate the marketing logistics with area school administrators and educators. “Everyone is so kind and gets along so well — we don’t have any conflicts.”
The 2026 Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day event was sponsored by Kensing, a local manufacturing corporation which produces high-quality chemicals for personal care, pharmaceuticals, food and agricultural industries. Kathryn Christman, project manager for Kensing, attended the event and shadowed one of the groups throughout the night. Jenny said that Christman gave positive feedback to the group at the end of the event, which was well-received. Olivet’s SWE chapter is grateful for the ongoing support of Kensing to make this event possible.
Professional Preparation
In the Walker School of STEM at Olivet, undergraduate students can choose to pursue a bachelor of science in engineering (BSE) degree with a concentration in mechanical, electrical, architectural, chemical & biochemical, civil or computer engineering. Since 1998, Olivet’s engineering program has been accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. This ABET accreditation distinguishes that the University has met the quality standards of the profession for which the program prepares its graduates. Additionally, the rigorous standards of the Department of Engineering prepare graduates to sit for the fundaments of engineering (FE) exam, graduate school applications, or to directly join the workforce.
During the Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day event, Alyssa Johnson, who is studying mechanical engineering helped run the mechanical engineering demonstration with classmate, Ashlynn Scott. The two women built rubber band cars with popsicle sticks, skewers, and laser cut wheels which were made with assistance from Troy Lovell, Engineering Tech Center manager. Alyssa gave a presentation on how the rubber band captures potential energy to “power” the cars, which Ashlynn demonstrated by racing the cars down the hallway. Alyssa also did the graphic design work for the event publicity as well as the t-shirt design.
The other rotations included a show in Olivet’s Strickler Planetarium; putting together night lights; building bridges with pasta noodles; and a chemical distillation demonstration prepared by Makenna Smith, who is studying chemical engineering. Makenna had previously trained in the lab, but did additional research to properly set up the water separation process so that the girls could enjoy a visual presentation simulating how distilled water is processed. The closing demonstration of the event was “elephant toothpaste” — an entertaining chemical reaction.
“It was really great to show the girls some career possibilities; I had no clue in middle school,” Makenna reflected. “The event puts the idea in their minds early on in a fun way so that maybe they’ll think back or see some application in classes in high school and think ‘I can do that too.’”
Both Makenna and Alyssa said they have had overall positive experiences as women in Olivet’s engineering department. Even so, they are aware of their minority status in the industry.
“Developing a sense of community is important,” Alyssa said of counteracting feelings of otherness as a woman in engineering. “I think it helps women feel less intimidated walking into a room of men when they see other women doing it. Asking questions also helps not only with learning, but with making friends.”
Connected Community
This year, the Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day event welcomed students from Ashkum, Dwight, Momence, Evergreen Park and Kankakee schools. Due to devastating storms the week before the event, the registered students from Kankakee Junior High School (KJHS) were facing a transportation obstacle as the school’s buses were damaged beyond use. Jenny and Troy jumped to action and arranged to individually pick up each student in one of Olivet’s buses with the KJHS principal and two teachers. The unexpected transportation solution added a layer of joyous community connection to the event, which already focused on the importance of lifting each other up.
After the event concluded, the members of the SWE council debriefed the event with a celebratory dinner at Denny’s.
For more information about the Department of Engineering or other areas of study offered by the Walker School of STEM, visit Olivet.edu/Academics.
