Raising aspirations for women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
My name is Emily and I'm studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Portsmouth.
Growing up, engineering was always something that I wanted to study. It just clicked for me. I loved physics but I just didn't know what career to pursue with it. I knew I didn't want to study only physics at a university level, so I started researching the types of things I could do instead. My dad works in construction and I quite liked the idea of working in that sector. When I realised that I could do engineering it was the perfect blend of what I was interested in.
People always ask me who inspired me, and of course my dad is one of those people but it was also partly because of Marvel's Iron Man. The first time I watched that film I remember thinking 'wow this guy can innovate and I want to do what he does'. After that I was hooked!
Whenever I talk to people about what I am doing, I quite often get asked if I'm worried about going into a male dominated industry and if I think I'll be taken seriously, I'm definitely not worried. I know I am going to go into an industry dominated by men but I am not going to let that stop me.
If I had the chance to speak to young girls who were thinking about going into a career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, I would tell them to never, ever give up. If there is something that you really want to achieve you just need to focus. There have been so many times where I wanted to give up and do something else just to make things easier for myself but I've remembered why I love the subject and what made me want to pursue a career in this area and that it'll all be worth it in the end.
My goal is to become an engineer and then go on to become a chartered engineer. There are so many roles that I can do with my degree so the flexibility it offers is very exciting.
This blog post was written by Emily Lascano, United Kingdom.