Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!mcnc!ecsvax!PROOF.ERGO.CS.CMU.EDU!Mary.Ann.Pike
From: Mary.Ann.Pike@PROOF.ERGO.CS.CMU.EDU
Newsgroups: comp.society.women
Subject: Re: women in engineering and science
Message-ID: <6715@ecsvax.UUCP>
Date: 26 Mar 89 04:32:49 GMT
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In article <6647@ecsvax.UUCP> ceide@bbn.com writes:
>I've recently read many things which prompt me to ask: 
>How many succesful women software engineers, mathematicians,
>and so on were encouraged as children by their *fathers* in
>maths and sciences?  It seems like a lot.  I know my father,
>although a literary type, expressed a lot of admiration when
>I could do any math or physics, and that encouraged me.  

The driving force in my family was my mother.  Her parents were
immigrants, and she never had the opportunity to attend college, so
she made sure that my brother and sister and I did well in school
and went to college.  Not having any professional people in our
family, we didn't have any role models to direct us into any
particular professions.

I would have to say that my choice of engineering as a major was
influenced by my high school teachers (male and female).  We had a
great high school, where the teachers really took an interest in
their students.  I can remember my physics teacher asking me what
I was going to major in at college, and when I told him I really
didn't know, he suggested electrical engineering, because of the
aptitude I had shown in my physics and math classes.  That ended
up being the degree that I received.

Looking back at my college record, I think that I did not do as well
academically as I did in high school because most of the professors
in college either don't have the time or just aren't interested in
the students (particularly undergraduates).  Having *someone* 
(regardless of gender) to appreciate and encourage your school work 
(be it parents, teachers, or whomever) can make a big difference in 
your attitude towards learning.

My mother was the one who encouraged me to do well in school, but
it was my high school teachers that directed me towards engineering as
a profession.

Mary Ann Pike
mapike@cs.cmu.edu