RocketSTEM Issue #6 - March 2014 | Page 19

Photo: U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Julianne Showalter MV/CV-22 Osprey Data File First Flight: March 19, 1989 Delivered: 2006 Propulsion: Two Rolls-Royce AE1107C turbo shaft engines Thrust: More than 6,200 shaft horsepower per engine Accommodation: crew: officer: two pilots; enlisted: two flight engineers Load: 24 troops seated, 32 troops on floor, or 10,000 lbs. cargo Length: Fuselage: 57.3 ft. Width: Rotors turning: 84.7 ft.; Stowed: 18.4 ft. Height: Nacelles vertical: 22.1 ft.; Stabilizer: 17.9 ft. Rotor Diameter: 38.1 ft. everybody can. And I think girls make some of the best engineers I’ve seen throughout my career here, throughout college. They do some amazing stuff, and our efforts as women can not be underappreciated. I had the fortune of having mentors along the way tell me that I could do it, and I try to give that back to the girls I now see at my outreach events. I tell them that they can do it too. Q: At any point in your career have you felt that being a woman held you back? Mohl: Never. It has been equal ground the entire time. Never once have I felt like I wasn’t respected. It doesn’t even make a difference Maximum Vertical Takeoff Weight: 52,870 pounds (23,982 kilograms) Maximum Rolling Takeoff Weight: 60,500 pounds (27,443 kilograms) Armament: One .50 Cal Machine gun on ramp Max Cruise Speed: 277 mph Ceiling: 25,000 feet (7,620 meters) Mission Radius: 500 miles with one internal auxiliary fuel tank. In flight refueling capable. Unit cost: $89 million (fiscal 2005 dollars) Compiled by David Richards from U.S. Air Force documents here, which is wonderful. It’s really when you are growing up that boys get pushed towards math and science, while girls don’t. Having people push me towards math and science has been the key part to me achieving what I’ve been able to. Q: So, do you feel that having a mentor made a huge difference? Mohl: Definitely – not only growing up, but also now at Boeing. I’ve mentored a couple of higher executive women here and now, seeing how much they have accomplished has helped me understand what I want my career path to be, as well. So yes, it has really been essential to my career. I think this sentiment by author C. Joybell C., “You may not know where you’re going, but you know that so long as you spread your wings, the winds will carry you.”, sums it up quite nicely. Mohl is a great example of what a strong sense of commitment to a passion can help a person achieve. Not only does she excel in her field with her talent, she takes it a step further by giving back via her outreach efforts. She builds quality defense equipment and inspires girls to head in the direction of their engineering dreams. She may not have had her map drawn up the entire way through her academic career, but she clearly ended up exactly where she was meant to be. 17 www.RocketSTEM.org 17