Prince William County Public Schools

Longtime Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) business partner BAE Systems in Manassas selected 19 high school students for its annual Women in Technology (WiT) program. This year, the 10-week program took place in person and provided students with a close-up look at engineering disciplines such as mechanical, electrical, and systems engineering, along with computer programming and other skills.

Marine Assoumou, a senior at Forest Park High School, found her participation in the WiT program fulfilling, “Before joining the program, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in engineering. I have always been passionate about this field and was eager to learn more. Through this program, I learned many vital skills related to being an engineer, and I did so alongside amazing and talented women engineers. This program made it more evident that engineering is the field for me and what I should pursue in college.”

2022-23 PWCS WiT participants include:

Juniors and seniors in good academic standing were invited to apply. The WiT program is geared toward female students with exceptional skills in the subjects of mathematics and science.

As part of the program, students explored electronic circuits, coding with Arduino and breadboard circuits, and 3D object design with computer-aided design (CAD) tools.

Students also witnessed Failure Analysis machines; powerful microscopes utilized to detect the process failures of microchips.

Assoumou shared, “The failure analysis rotation allowed me to observe and use high-technology machines I never thought even existed. We used a scanning electron machine that allowed us to visualize everyday objects under a new angle; I learned how an electron microscope works (instead of using light as a regular microscope does, it uses a beam of electrons to decipher and identify the material we were looking at). We also used a focused ion beam to write our names on the tip of a pin! This module allows me to understand why engineers would need to use such high-tech and powerful machines: to find a mistake in a design that the naked eye could not have spotted.”

In addition, the WiT program offered opportunities for professional development such as how to format a good resume, and interview skills.