Emily Hernandez didn’t wait until college to start recruiting fellow minorities to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. She started as an eighth-grader during a University of Memphis camp called Girls Experiencing Engineering near her Germantown, Tennessee, hometown.
Today, the junior in electrical engineering is still recruiting minorities to engineering through the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers at Missouri S&T. Hernandez, who serves as secretary of the group, says she wants to see more diversity in the engineering field.
Last summer, Hernandez interned at Intel, mentoring girls during the Intel-sponsored Girls Who Code summer immersion program.
“I talked to them about how being a female engineer among men isn’t as intimidating as they thought,” she says.
Last year, Hernandez was a student diversity mentor. She met with an incoming freshman every other week to help him complete assignments and develop a resume. Most importantly, she encouraged him to keep going.
“I reminded him during any struggle that he could do it and that a career in STEM was really a possibility for him,” she says.
Reviewed 2014-09-15