Winter 2017 PEG

FOUNDATON FEATURE

THE STORY WRIT LARGE

In Alberta, READesign continues to spread to new communities — a trend that won’t let up in 2018. Support from the APEGA Foundation is helping make the Alberta versions possible, along with the volunteer power within the Association itself. “It’s been so great to work with APEGA and the foundation,” says Ms. Wilson-Iherjirika. “There’s this huge network of engineers who want to give back and work with kids to spark an interest in engineering.”

Ms. Wilson-Iherjirika is delighted by the response from volunteers and kids to READesign, and she notes that it’s already expanding across Canada, thanks in part to former coworkers in other cities. The first READesign in Sarnia, Ontario, has taken place, with sponsorship from Suncor and Enbridge. And there’s interest in Regina, Saskatchewan, and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

T he Role of Luck Many young people — particularly girls — don’t consider engineering as a career. Without a little luck, that would have been the case for D’Andre Wilson-Iherjirika, P.Eng. “It was only by chance that I decided to study engineering,” she says. Growing up in Nassau, Bahamas, she had little exposure to engineering. Ms. Wilson-Iherjirika was in her last year of high school, in fact, and was researching careers when she stumbled upon chemical engineering. The profession, it seemed to her, was a combination of two loves, chemistry and mathematics. Maybe she should give it a try. In 2006, Ms. Wilson-Iherjirika took a calculated risk by moving to Canada to pursue a degree in chemical engineering at McGill University in Montreal. Her expectations were met and the decision paid off. After earning her second degree, a master’s in applied science at the University of Toronto, she became a process engineering intern at Suncor Energy in Fort McMurray. Today, she’s a process safety engineer with the company. A good profession and position did not stop her from thinking about her lack of early exposure to careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). She decided to find ways to help young people discover their own abilities and learn about engineering’s vast potential. Ms. Wilson-Iherjirika got involved in outreach. In a big way.

D’ANDRE’S STORY Choosing a STEM path is not nearly as likely to happen for girls as it is boys — even more so in her home country of the Bahamas, says D’Andre Wilson-Ihejirika, P.Eng. She’s made STEM outreach a mission in her professional career so far.

In 2014, she cofounded the Bahamas Engineering and Technology Advancement Camp, a five-day summer camp introducing teens to engineering disciplines. Two years before that, she created the BrainSTEM Alliance, a Canadian organization that works with non-profits, charities, and educational institutions to create STEM outreach initiatives for youth. One of BrainSTEM’s latest initiatives is READesign. See main story.

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