Momentum - The Magazine for Virginia Tech Mechanical Engineering Vol. 3 No. 1 Spring 2018 | Page 23

ment. “The students I teach, once
they realize what my experience is,
ask for resume advice, and interview
advice, and they ask me all sorts of
questions that I’m happy to answer.
I think my extensive background in
industry is very valuable.”
For those who come to Ott looking
for advice on getting ready to join
the workforce, she has some ideas on
that as well.
“I would offer students a ‘prepare
yourself’ conversation,” Ott said. “For
female students, the conversation
might be even a little more pointed.
I would offer examples of what I
faced so that if, by chance, they faced
the same thing, they’d be a bit better
prepared to deal with it, or know
how to respond, or who to report it
to. You shouldn’t have to figure that
out on your own.”
manager, quality engineer, supplier quality
engineer – it was really fun and steel toes and
safety glasses were the attire.”
Ott’s manager with Kollmorgen gave her
advice she continues to share with students
today. “He told me that you can’t manage ev-
eryone the same way; you have to know who
you’re talking to, and if they’re not going to
deal well with you being very direct, you need
to change your leadership style.” The message
of situational leadership, she believes, helps
people deal with coworkers as well as subordi-
nates or superiors. “Not everyone realizes you
have to change your approach – at least they
generally don’t know it when they’re 20.”
That type of experiential feedback is what
sets Ott apart from many within the depart-
For the students she now sees on a
daily basis, Ott is careful to recognize
that the environment for women has gotten
better, but is still not where it needs to be.
“I can’t reach the parents of every student,
but I can try to reach the students. The only
way I can impact them is by being the best
female role model and the best engineer I can
be. Ultimately, I can’t change anyone else’s
behavior, but I can model what I think is the
right behavior, because gender discrimination
isn’t gone – it’s better, but not gone. When I
graduated I hoped that by the time my daugh-
ter was 20 gender discrimination would be
a thing of the past, but she’s 15 now, and it’s
not gone. So for female engineers I would say
that there will likely be someone who won’t
believe in you, and the only way to combat
that is to believe in yourself.”
MOMENTUM
SPRING 2018
PAGE 23