GTL’s WIE Scholarship Recipients

The Women in Engineering banquet was held just last week in honor of its scholarship recipients – but some were all the way at GTL (celebrating at a distance). Get to know these wonderful young ladies!

This past weekend, I got to interview the four wonderful ladies who were the lucky recipients of the Women In Engineering (WIE) Scholarship! Emily Eastburn, Lauren Boulger, Rachel Clark, and Elaine Johnson all won scholarships awarded by the Women in Engineering program for being exemplary students not only in their academics, but in their daily lives as well. Respectively, the scholarships were funded by Arconic, General Motors, United Technologies, and Saint Gobain. These four are out of the 169 inspiring young women to win, the rest of whom are at GT-A and not GTL for this semester. The Women in Engineering program at Tech is one of the largest in the country – and gives out the most scholarships of any women in engineering program.
 
Here are some of the questions I asked them:
 
1. What year are you in and what is your major?
2. Why did you choose to come to GTL? How are you liking France (Europe) so far?
3. What has been your best European adventure?
4. What are your plans after GT?
5. What is your dream job and why?
 

 

Emily Eastburn (Arconic)

 I am a second year Materials Science Engineering (MSE) major. I chose GTL because I wanted to take classes that counted towards my major, and I have always wanted to travel Europe. My favorite adventure was spring break in Italy because it was so gorgeous, and the food was amazing! I am planning on going to grad school after GT. Hopefully for a PhD in biomaterials or bioengineering. My dream job would be working in a lab on prosthetics or tissue engineering. I want to be able engineer something that will make someone’s life better through bioengineering.
 

Lauren Boulger (General Motors)

I am majoring in Industrial and Systems Engineering (SyE), and I am in my fourth year. I wanted to come to Europe (for the first time) to expand my horizons and experience awesome places. I have loved it all, but Normandy was the place that surprised me the most. I went to Mont Saint-Michel and climbed the cliffs of Étretat, and they were amazing. I hope to work in supply chain and maybe a rotational program. My dream job would be a VP of supply chain, as it would challenge me to combine everything I’ve learned with leadership skills.
 

Rachel Clark (United Technologies)

I am a 2nd year, majoring in Electrical Engineering. I chose to visit GTL because it is an incredible opportunity to visit Europe and continue to take classes that count towards my degree. GTL is a great study abroad program for ECE students because they offer so many major classes. Also, I am an out of state student, so GTL is a deal!
I loved exploring some of the cities close to Metz with my roommate, Ashleigh! We spent the weekend visiting Nancy and Strasbourg. It was interesting to see the drastic differences between two cities that are so close together. Nancy has an almost Parisian vibe, with a beautiful, ornately decorated square. Strasbourg, on the other hand, looks much more German, with a gothic cathedral and medieval half-timbered houses. Ashleigh always says they remind her of the houses in Beauty and the Beast! It has a fascinating history, constantly switching between French and German possession. It is so interesting to visit cities so close to where we live that have such different cultures!
After GT, I plan on working as a software engineer in the defense industry, hopefully developing products that help the US military. My dream job would be a job where I can work on my interests within EE, which include signal processing, software engineering, and digital design. I would love to work on both the hardware and software sides of a product.
 

Elaine Johnson (Saint Gobain)

I am a second year Materials Science and Engineering major with a German minor. I chose to come to GTL because I knew it would be a great opportunity to explore Europe and meet other Tech students, while also staying on track with my degree. Europe has been absolutely incredible so far. It’s crazy to think about how many countries and cultures I have had the opportunity to experience in these past four months! My best European adventure so far has probably been hiking with friends through the Black Forest in Germany.

After GT I hope to attend graduate school for engineering. My dream job has always been to work in the automotive industry and work with cars. But the more I learn through school and in the research field, the more my dream job changes!
 
Congratulations to these wonderful young ladies!