We, at MilkshakeFromMars, aim to share stories of #womeninscience to celebrate their work and highlight their achievements despite discriminatory academic and work environments. And what better way to do this than to hear the stories directly from these women themselves! Today we bring you the story of civil engineer and Woman in Science activist, Danielle Schroeder.
Danielle (Dani) Schroeder is an Associate Bridge Engineer at a private consulting firm in Pennsylvania. She focuses on the reconstruction and rehabilitation of bridges and other transportation-related structures. She holds society leadership positions for both ASCE and Society of Women Engineers (SWE). For her work with these organizations and her extensive STEM Outreach work, she was honored as one of ASCE’s New Faces of Civil Engineering in 2021. Here is our interview with Dani Schroeder!
Can you tell us a little about your work? What motivated you to become an engineer?
I currently work for a private consulting company in the transportation industry as an associate bridge engineer. The projects that I work on focus on the reconstruction and rehabilitation of bridges and other transportation-related structures. I also get to work on some new design projects which includes a new 12-acre park which will cap a portion of a major highway. In terms of education, I earned my BS and MS in Civil Engineering from Drexel University in 2017.
My motivation to become an engineer is twofold: my dad is a carpenter by trade and even built the house I grew up in. Because of this, I learned about the construction process at a young age. However, I did not learn about engineering specifically until I attended an engineering girls camp during my 3rd year of high school. There, I learnt that civil engineering would be the perfect career for me as it combines construction with the application of math and science!
The civil engineering field is very broad, so it is typically subdivided into the following six types: structural, transportation, water, construction, geotechnical and environmental. More often than not, these fields will overlap and work together during projects. My work as a bridge engineer covers both transportation and structural engineering.
I am passionate about STEM outreach and teaching students about the awesome career opportunities in engineering.
Through my job, I focus on rehabilitating the physical structures of our past and through my STEM outreach, I inspire the minds of our future!
What do you hope to accomplish as a civil engineer in today’s world? Why do you think it is important?
Most of the projects I work on are focused on extending the life of existing bridges. I hope to continue maintaining and creating ways to get people where they need to go. Another thing that I hope to accomplish before I retire is a STEM workforce that is as diverse as the communities that we serve. This is important to me as our designs should focus on the use and having a diverse team work on these project will lead to better overall designs.
How has being a woman affected your journey through STEM?
I, to this day, remember the feeling during my first year of college when I looked around the room of my computer programming class of 30 students and realized that I was the only woman. It is tough to feel like you belong when you are the ‘only’ in a group. Unfortunately my story is similar to many others who are currently underrepresented in STEM. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2019, of the 475,000 Civil Engineers currently employed, only 14% identify as women. It takes all of us to change this! Through volunteering and leading STEM outreach events in my community, I am helping to increase the diversity in STEM by educating students as young as kindergarten about the engineering field. I have also found an amazing supportive network of #WomeninSTEM on social media.
In your opinion, what makes for a successful scientist? Is it different for women?
As failure is inevitable in STEM – a successful scientist is one that perseveres through failure. When I mean failures, these can be literal failures like failing an exam or class, to applying for an award and being rejected. Throughout studying a STEM subject or as a STEM professional, there will be many failures throughout your time. But a successful scientist knows that what you learn from those failures is what makes you better at your role! Tying back into the previous question, I wouldn’t say it is different. But things like negative self-talk and impostor’s syndrome can be more frequent for us when we are the ‘only’ in a group.
You are Senator of the Society of Women Engineers. Can you tell us a little more about your role in the organization? Why do you think the work they do is important?
For the Society of Women Engineer (SWE), I am a senator in my second of three-year term. The SWE Senate is the strategic body of the society that advises the Board of Directors and the membership on strategic issues. The members of the Senate participate in strategic work through the strategic planning process and research of strategic initiatives. For FY21, there are a total of 25 elected Senators and many non-voting members. This includes the Board of Directors who make up the full senate.
Professional organizations like SWE have been critical to my leadership development as well as the development of other skills like communication. Particularly through the SWE Senate, I am learning strategic planning skills that I hopefully will eventually use also in my full-time job as a civil engineer!
I think that the work SWE does is important because they have given women like me a safe place to learn about the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion. It has also given us a community of like-minded individuals. I have been a SWE member since 2012. One of my favorite SWE events is the annual conference which had over 16,000 attendees. These conferences have helped me build my network in the engineering field and gain role models.
What is it like to be in a leadership position in the scientific world?
First everyone has the ability to be a leader. If you don’t believe me, check out Drew Dudley’s TEDx talk “Everyday Leadership”. I say this because we all are leaders in our community. We are role models for the next generation of STEM professionals. Personally, I greatly enjoy being a leader in SWE. It has given me the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people in the STEM community and am hopefully leading by example.
Do you think it’s important that scientists are recognized for their work? Has it motivated you, personally?
I definitely think it is important to are recognized for their work! Particularly if you have your Ph.D. or your medical degree, you should be recognized as Doctor as you put in the hard work earning that degree. Something I learned the hard way through college is that you need to be your own advocate. If you have a goal and need help to reach it, don’t be afraid to ask for help! Also in terms of being recognized for your work, celebrate your wins no matter how small!
Who is one person/figure that inspires you?
Wilma Rudolph. I learned about her in early grade school, and Wilma’s story still serves as a source of inspiration for me when I feel like something is impossible.
For those who don’t know, Wilma Rudolph was born in 1940. She contracted both polio and scarlet fever at a young age. She survived, but due to her illness she was forced to wear a brace on her leg. “My doctor told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother,” said Wilma. And she did! Not only did she learn to walk again, Rudolph became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field at the same Olympic game. She even broke several world records in Rome in 1960. Her performance earned her the title of “the fastest woman in the world”. If you are looking for a story about perseverance, I highly recommend that you learn more about her!
Not only are you an accomplished civil engineer, you are also a STEMinist blogger with a significant platform. What motivated you to start blogging about STEMinism and empowering women in science?
The motivation really came from some of my mentees and wanting to take that information to help a larger audience. I decided to start my blog and associated social media as @DaniTheEngineer in 2019. I wanted to encourage others to pursue a career in STEM as well as share what I have learned along my journey so far. The impact that social media has had on society and how we connect is something that I have already seen. It is only going to continue to play a bigger role in our lives in the future!
Personally, I love that it has given me a global audience. I love sharing my tips for STEM success and inspiring students to consider studying STEM in college. To this day, I still get DMs like the following:
“I’m a senior high school student and I was thinking of applying to study civil engineering but everyone I know has discouraged me from doing so because it’s ‘not suitable for women’. Also I don’t personally know anyone who has studied this major and I tried researching about it but didn’t really understand much about what it really is or what they do. So can I ask you a few questions?”
These DMs are exactly why I became a STEM blogger!
I want anyone who is interested in STEM, especially women, to know that they can do it!
And for those reading this who have been interested in starting a blog but haven’t yet, follow the Nike tagline and Just Do it! You have important information to share regardless of where you are in your career. For example, as an early career professional with 3 years of experience, I like to share my experiences and tips about crafting a resume or preparing for the FE Exam. We all have the ability to share our stories and talk about what personally worked (or didn’t work for us) to help the next generation of engineering professionals- let’s use it!
What advice would you give to a young person starting their career as an engineer?
The best advice I can give to engineers starting their first job is don’t be afraid to ask questions! Especially as an early career engineer, you aren’t expected to know everything, so make sure you speak up when you are given a task and you are not sure how to proceed. Your team is there to help you learn and gain the critical technical skills for you to thrive in your field. Also, I recommend that you get involved in local professional societies as soon as you can. Core skills like communication will always be important to your engineering career regardless of your role, and professional societies are a great way to work on these skills as a young engineer and better prepare you for project management positions later in your career.
Do you have any closing advice for young female scientists, or society in general?
Find your squad that is going to support you through your STEM journey. Speaking from my personal experience as someone continually battling Imposter syndrome, finding your “squad” or several mentors to help encourage you is especially important for women who are considering a career in engineering. Also, these mentors can be of any gender, discipline, background, etc.!
If you see someone who has a career that sounds awesome to you, don’t be afraid to reach out to them! STEM professionals like myself want to help the next generation explore the vast and awesome career paths you can take in STEM!
Thank you for speaking with us about your work, your journey and how you promote women in STEM! Your advocacy educates and inspires so many young girls around the world. We at MilkshakeFromMars feel honored to feature a woman making the way for a more equal world.
Make sure you follow Dani on Instagram @danitheengineer. Stay educated!
If you like this post you may like some of our other work!
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
Subscribe to help us keep you updated with new posts!
Leave a Reply