2 Graduate from BAE Systems' 'Women in Technology' Program

Two students from the Academy for Science and Design graduate from BAE Systems Women in Technology program

BAE’s Women in Technology (WiT) program was started at the company’s Nashua campus 20 years ago. The annual graduation ceremony was held on Tuesday, February 17, 2015 at Sky Meadow Country Club, honoring the 18 young women from high schools around the region who completed the engineering exploration program this year. Students from 18 different Granite State high schools applied for one of 18 spots in the program with more than 50 young women applying to be a part of the WiT Class of 2015. Two students from the Academy for Science and Design were chosen, Junior Bahnou Upton and Senior Pragya Rachur.

Sandi Pelletier, the program coordinator, told the audience that the program was started with just six students, three from Nashua High School and three from Alvirne High School in 1995. It was her idea to bring young women with an aptitude in science and math to BAE to learn about various types of engineering over the course of a few months because she wished she had had something like that when she was younger and interested in engineering. “If I think back to when I first started, there really were no women in engineering at all,” she said. “They were either secretaries or worked on the manufacturing floor. Fortunately, that’s changed” Pelletier told the graduates.

The students who were chosen to be a part of the WiT program participated in activities like building a robot and programming it to complete certain tasks. They worked to build electrical circuits and in the company’s microwave engineering lab and much more. The students reported to BAE Systems at least one day a week for 16 weeks to participate in these hands-on engineering exercises and projects, and to be mentored by experts who share their knowledge while providing encouragement and guidance.

The students were also assigned mentors, who helped them figure out which areas of engineering might interest them most, as well as advise the students involved on the courses and programs they should be involved in during high school and college to find a good career in the science, technology, engineering and math fields.

The WiT program objective, according to the program brochure, is to allow female students in high school who have an aptitude in math and science a practical, hands-on opportunity to explore careers in various technical disciplines. It also provides mentorship to the students to encourage and support them in their pursuit of a technical career.

Jennifer Cava, Director of ASD told Bahnou and Pragya after the luncheon ”You were both so well-spoken, and represented the very best of what ASD hopes to be. I can’t wait to see what you do in the future!” Both of the participants from ASD agreed that it was a great opportunity that they felt lucky to be chosen to be a part of. They worked with other students that they did not previously know and learned about different types of engineering and what those jobs entailed. Congratulations to all of the WiT Class of 2015 graduates.