on STEM Outreach and Education FOCUS

be an engineer. That single day was so impactful that I never wavered from my commitment, and I graduated in 2015 with a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Connecticut. I started working at Fuss & O’Neill right after graduation, and I’ve been with the firm for the last seven years.

In March of 2022, The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) noted that “America needs more engineers”1. They also called on President Biden and Congress to “[encourage] more American students to join STEM fields”. When ACEC made this statement, we were just beginning to understand The Great Resignation. Now, months later, the industry is really feeling its effects, and I don’t think we’re near the end of this economic trend. As a working Transportation Engineer with a lot of friends in the engineering industry, I know that most engineering companies are struggling to fill open positions. And I know that there is no quick solution to this problem.

What I do know for certain though is that STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) outreach is one component of the answer. And I know that the earlier this outreach happens, the more effective it is. I could cite studies (and there are many), but I’d rather speak from personal experience. When I was in elementary school, my father took me to one such outreach event in Attleboro, MA put on by Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS). I got to spend the day immersed in creative problem solving, and I walked away from that day knowing I wanted to

While my job still holds daily joys for me and I’m getting to devote a lot of my time to projects I’m passionate about (complete streets projects in particular), I recognize that I now have a platform to help others the same way I was helped. I am a member of WTS, which is an organization known for promoting and advancing women in the transportation industry. As part of the Boston chapter, the organization (in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation) puts on an annual interactive outreach event that is their own spinoff of the national event called Transportation YOU for girls ages 8 through 18. Throughout the pandemic we held this summit virtually, but this year we were back in person! I was joined by some of my amazing colleagues from the Boston office Transportation Department for a wonderful Saturday helping students explore the concepts of, and designing, complete streets. Fuss & O’Neill, through its Corporate Citizenship initiative, supported us with funding and planning the hands-on lesson.

This day was a reminder of how important STEM outreach is. Science and math are part of the common core in American classrooms, though both offer varied sub-subjects and pre-requisites differ for students depending on post-secondary education plans. Technology and engineering are not typical subjects unless one attends a school with a focus on these studies. Therefore, the “average” student’s exposure to practical engineering is extremely limited. And without an introduction to engineering, what incentive is there to then accept the challenge of selecting it as your major in college? The Transportation YOU Summit, which is part of the Massachusetts STEM Week, and other special outreach programs are integral to sparking an interest in the engineering field. I say this because I see, year after year, the excitement on the girls’ faces as they realize they have the ability to solve real-world problems. I hope this excitement continues after they leave us, and I hope that schools recognize the need to promote engineering as a potential field of study for all students. But until engineering becomes part of the standard curriculum, I encourage those of us in the field to support outreach in any way we can. All the work I do today and all the problems in the future that I solve are because of that one day of outreach. Imagine the change we could create if we offered that experience to millions more.

Katherine Patch, PE is a Senior Transportation Engineer with Fuss & O’Neill’s Transportation Business Line in the Boston, Massachusetts office. She has a strong background in roadway design and traffic analysis, with a particular passion for complete streets principles.

1https://www.acec.org/last-word-blog/acecstatement-on-the-state-of-the-union-address1/