Queengineers Issue 1 | Page 3

Contents

ABOUT ENGINEERING

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Lisa Mweru Kara .............. 8

Lorna Omondi ................. 10

Kate Mukangula .............. 12

Maureen Kibetu .............. 14

Marian Muthui .................16

Rachael Mwangi ............. 18

Carol Ofafa ....................... 20

Diana Wanjihia ................ 22

Kathy Kiema .................... 24

Winfred Mutinda ............ 26

Sylvia Macharia ............... 28

REFERENCE MATERIALS

It baffles me that in this day and age, I still receive confused

stares whenever I tell someone that I'm an engineer. The

common response is usually, “But you don’t look like an engineer!”

That statement begs the question, what is an engineer supposed to look like? Do you imagine a burly, middle-aged man covered in dust and grime with a toolbox in hand? Or possibly a young, computer savvy, man à la Mark Zuckerberg?

It is unfortunate that this misconception persists. Therefore, when Martha Wakoli approached me to collaborate with her on Queengineers, I did not think twice about it.

It is my hope that young girls can use this publication as a tool to help inform their future career decisions by demystifying engineering and other Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) fields. The women profiled in this issue all come from different backgrounds and engineering has led each of them on unique paths. Which goes to show that there isn’t a predetermined or concrete career path for an engineer; YOU define your own path.

Finally, to the young girls reading this, yes, I am an engineer, yes, I do get my hands dirty sometimes and I love it! Michelle Obama said it best during the 2016 United State of Women Summit, when she remarked, “Let me wake up everyday and work hard to do something of value and to do it well and to do something consequential that I care about and let that speak for itself.“ Therefore, go forth and seek that something and may it be awesome!

Thank you to Martha, the amazing women who shared their stories in this issue and to my sister Beth for graciously accepting to be the cover model. Happy reading!

3

Marian

Muthui