Faces of WISEST: Kellie Cockle

It’s hard to believe that it was 13 years ago when I participated in the WISEST Summer Research Program (SRP) in 2010. Prior to the program, I knew I excelled at math and science, but I didn’t have a clear vision of what I could do with that. It didn’t help that I grew up in a small town and had never met an engineer, let alone a woman in engineering. Consequently, I found the WISEST SRP to be extremely eye-opening.

The SRP is so much more than a summer job. Participants get to tour labs, receive lectures from professors, and gain confidence in a professional and post-secondary environment. I remember one professor from the Chemical Engineering department who gave a presentation that was particularly inspiring and influential in my decision to pursue engineering after high school. She just so happened to be at my iron ring ceremony six years later and I was able to thank her for the impact she had on me.  That’s the power of organizations like WISEST.

Without my experience in the SRP, I doubt I would have applied into engineering and set out on the path I am on today. I graduated from the U of A in 2016 with a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering Co-op, worked as a Structural Design Engineer for 6+ years, and recently joined Oak Forensic Engineering as their first in-house Structural Engineer. WISEST, and female mentorship in general, helped drive me to pursue my passions in a STEM career.