Women in Engineering: Perspectives From the TEC Team

Every year on June 23, the global community comes together to celebrate International Women in Engineering Day. It’s a day dedicated to honoring the incredible achievements of female engineers worldwide and shining a spotlight on the exciting career opportunities available in STEM.

As a woman-owned engineering firm, TEC Engineering, Inc. knows firsthand that diverse perspectives drive the most innovative solutions. We believe it is vital to spark early curiosity and actively inspire the next generation of STEM leaders. To bring this mission to life, we were thrilled to open the doors of our Mason, Ohio headquarters to host "Girls in Engineering Night", welcoming young innovators aged 6 to 12 for a hands-on night of building, testing, and designing.

To kick off our celebration, we asked some of the women at TEC to share their insights, wisdom, and advice for the young women who will shape tomorrow.

Rihab Saleh | Chief Executive Officer

Advice for the Next Generation:

"Trust the depth of your intellect and the unique perspective you bring to the table. True leadership isn't about conforming to the existing blueprint; it's about having the courage to redesign it, lift others as you climb, and build solutions that the world didn't even know it was missing.”

Andrea Harth, PE, PTOE, RSP | Vice President of

Operations

Advice for the Next Generation:

"Throughout an engineering education and career there are times when you may be one of the few or the only girl in the room. It may feel intimidating but know that engineering is all about solving important problems and we cannot design solutions for everyone if our designers don’t represent everyone. We need you there.  Be yourself, trust your capability, and know you belong at the table."

Kellie Linville, PE | Director of Roadway Services

Advice for the Next Generation:

"My advice for young girls wanting to get into engineering is to go for it! Challenge yourself. Expect to fail and learn from those mistakes. You will succeed. It will not be an easy journey but we need creative, goal-focused, minds to make our future world the one we want it to be"

Sara Senger, PE, PTOE | Director of Traffic Services

Advice for the Next Generation:

"Go for it!  Don't let others define what you can achieve.  The world needs your ideas, your creativity and your dedication to overcome the challenges of tomorrow!”

Tessa Ernst, EI | Design Engineer

Advice for the Next Generation:

"My best piece of advice for young girls wanting to get into STEM/Engineering is to surround yourself with successful women and it will be easier to visualize that success for yourself. Finding a good mentor and growing my community of fellow women in STEM has been a vital key to my growth and comfort in a primarily male industry. "

Inspiring Tomorrow's Engineers: Our "Girls in Engineering" Event

To celebrate National Women in Engineering Day, we opened the doors of our Mason, Ohio headquarters to host a "Girls in Engineering Night" for young innovators aged 6 to 12. Led by our own female engineers and support staff, the attendees stepped into the world of engineering for the night. Some of the event's highlights included:

• The Great Marshmallow Bridge Challenge: Working in teams, the girls designed and tested structural models using only marshmallows and toothpicks, learning how engineers distribute weight to keep bridges safe and strong.

• Traffic Jam!: The girls got a hands-on look at how traffic lights, sensors, and intelligent transportation systems (ITS) work to prevent congestion by acting as "cars" in a live game of "Red Light, Green Light" to test different signal timings.

• Pavement Parfait: Modeling the complex, structural layers of a roadway, the girls built edible "parfaits" using pretzels, granola, Oreos, and pudding to visualize how physical roads are engineered from the ground up.

• Roadway Racers: Using Hot Wheels tracks to launch cars toward precise targets, our future engineers explored physics concepts like momentum, friction, and braking distance in action.

• Street Sign Superstars!: Tapping into the critical planning the girls designed and colored their own unique traffic signs, learning how visual communication keeps our neighborhood roads and communities safe.

  
  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Here’s to the women who are shaping our world today and the girls who will rebuild it tomorrow!