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DEBBIE SCHENBERGER
I am a mechanical engineer. I design and build space-flight hardware, such
as animal enclosures for the Space Shuttle. I spend over half my day at
a CAD workstation designing and the rest helping others on my team, attending
project meetings, and working on my schooling. The most enjoyable part of
my job at NASA is being part of exciting projects related to space and using
state-of-the-art design tools. My work allows me to attend courses over
a television network that links to Stanford University. I am about to complete
my Master's degree in mechanical engineering with an emphasis on design.
English was my strongest subject in high school, but it wasn't interesting. I just couldn't imagine learning anything more about literature or grammar. I was also good at math and science, so when I heard a presentation given by NASA. I decided that was for me. That was a field that I was only just learning with lots of potential for future growth. I felt pressured not to go into a math and science based field. Even my math teachers in high school often "overlooked" me when they were passing out literature on math contests and other contests designed to give students praise for doing well in math. My parents also felt that it might be too "difficult" for me, which I still don't understand. how can any field be more difficult for a woman than for a man. In science, I had many excellent teachers who encouraged and inspired me to proceed. College was hard because most of my female friends switched to non-science majors after the first year and I was the only woman in my class by my senior year. All my study partners were male and all my teachers were male, but it didn't really bother me. Everyone was comfortable with me being a part of "the group" and we all became very close. I am married with two children who go to the daycare center near my work. It has been a challenge balancing being a mother and having a career. I am an avid woodworker and have built bookcases, footstools, picture frames, mirrors, and other items for my family. My biggest and lifelong project is a six foot tall, six foot wide dollhouse with a round tower up the side which I have been building since high school. I'm also maling all the furniture, including a harpsicord complete with strings. I love nature and the outdoors. There are many women in science and engineering that would love to talk to you. Colleges and companies are actively recruiting women in these fields. Engineering, math, and science are just plain fun. "We are all faced with a series of great opprtunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations." --Charles R. Swindoll This quote is pasted on the wall of the engineer I most admire. He has been working at Ames Research center for almost 40 years and is responsible for many of the great designs Ames has produced. He is a wonderful person who always has time to help and inspire a young engineer and I want to be just like him.
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