In honor of National Women’s History Month, Hannah Blankenship, a high school student intern at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District, took the opportunity to interview the Chief of Civil Design, Michelle Lay. Hannah is interested in studying engineering in college, so she took insight from Michelle who knows firsthand about being a successful female engineer in a male dominated field.
Q. Why did you decide to become an engineer, and was there someone that had a huge influence on your decision?
A. My father is an engineer and both my parents are currently working at the Corps, so it made sense to me. It was the logical thing for me to do. My dad was really the only influence I had.
Q. How long have you been working at USACE and specifically as chief of civil design?
A. I have been here for 8 years. I started in 2003 doing a summer internship, after that I worked part time for 2 years while getting my master’s degree. I have been the chief for 11 months, 1 year in May.
Q. What are some examples of the kind of work you do?
A. I am heavily engaged in the district budget processes for civil works, which is a large part of my job. I also monitor design packages, which means I keep in close contact with field offices and communicate a lot between the designers in the field office. I review specific design plans, making sure that they meet quality requirements.
Q. What is your favorite part about your job?
A. This might sound strange, but I actually like going to meetings. I like interacting and seeing what’s going on. I like seeing all the different projects that the Corps works on and how civil design fits in and supports the district.
Q. What does it mean to you to be working as a woman in a predominantly male work force?
A. To tell you the truth, I have never seen it that way. I don’t feel like women are treated any differently. I do not find it a problem. When I was getting my bachelor’s in chemical engineering, thirty percent of the class was female.
Q. What advice would you give to future women interested in engineering?
A. I would say that the most important thing is learning how to learn. Be resourceful and take the consideration of other’s perspectives, interact and be open-minded. It is important to learn how to develop personal and professional relationships.
Blankenship was inspired throughout the conversation with Lay, who gave an interesting and encouraging message of being a woman in engineering. Working with few other women can seem overwhelming, but Lay maintains an unmistakable positive outlook.