Milkah Macharia: How I discovered my career, mechanical engineering

Being a woman in engineering in particular mechanical engineering was not my childhood dream. When I was young, I loved everything to do with law and I even dreamt of becoming a lawyer or judge. Unfortunately when I joined high school, I was passionate about mathematics and science.

I discovered I had a calling in engineering when I started attending mathematics congresses and science contests in high school. After attaining the minimum requirements I decided to pursue mechanical engineering.

I was forced though to study mechatronics so I could fit in all the engineering categories. Two years down the line I found myself crawling back to mechanical engineering.

I am proud to be a woman in mechanical engineering. Now, all I want to think about is working towards becoming one of the few women professors in engineering.

I want  to thank all the companies that give us a chance either to learn from or work for them.

We choose engineering because we believe we can and when you trust us, we can work together and achieve so much!

“While the gender gap is not a simple problem to solve, I think we can start by engaging girls in STEM from a very young age. We also need to build inclusive programs throughout the education process—and then as companies, we need to recruit and build a culture that nurtures and retains top female talent.” ~ Kathy de Paolo, technologist and vice president of engineering, Walt Disney Company.

Milkah Macharia is a mechanical technician at Farmer’s Choice Limited