Women in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields are experiencing a new period of growth, acceptance, and respect in the modern workforce.
But when UConn alumna Jeanine Armstrong Gouin studied civil engineering in the 1980s, it was hard to feel welcome in an engineering building that didn’t even have a women’s bathroom.
Despite the dreary beginning, Gouin (who graduated in 1987, about four years before the Castleman Building installed women’s restrooms) delivered an inspirational message to an audience of young female STEM students last week.
The Women in STEM Frontiers in Research Expo (WiSFiRE) was held on Friday at the UConn Storrs campus. It brought together university undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, alumni, and STEM employees and supporters.
WiSFiRE was one of the first conferences in the region to specifically highlight the work of women researchers in STEM. That mission has been solidified through a recent endowment by Gouin.