Shawna Fletcher, director of the Women in Engineering (WE) program at Texas A&M University, was recently awarded the 2015 Student Employment Impact Award for her work with student employees.
WE is a program that focuses on promoting and supporting female engineers. The program hosts outreach opportunities for children and teens and professional development opportunities for engineering students and faculty among other events.
“As a leader, I want to empower my staff and help them to be the best they can be,” Fletcher said. “There are many times that leadership requires decision-making. I want to be sure transparency and collaboration are at the forefront of making decisions that affect the WE staff.”
Fletcher directs a staff of seven — six of whom are students. Judy Boadu, an electrical engineering doctoral student who serves as a non-teaching graduate assistant, nominated Fletcher for the award.
“She pushes her student employees to think outside the box,” Boadu said. “There have been moments where she sets goals and assigns tasks that may seem impossible at first, and which you do not think you can possibly accomplish, but because she’s passionate about her job and her goals for the Women in Engineering program, you look for ways to make it happen.
“One thing I believe Shawna has brought to the Texas A&M community is that she is not only targeting female students but also including the male students, faculty and staff too. She is engaging them in conversations on how they can serve as role models to break the traditional perceptions of women in engineering.”
Danisha Stern, WE program specialist, said WE provides women with opportunities to engage in projects and activities they might have shied away from before.
“Shawna makes it a point to connect with students and she inspires them by sharing her personal journey as an engineering student,” Stern said.
For more information about the Women in Engineering program, email weoutreach@tamu.edu.