Women in Technology (WIT) is a registered student organization (RSO) here at Ferris that consists of a group of women, and even a couple men, who come from all sorts of majors in the College of Engineering Technology.
“We really focus on encouraging other girls to consider taking a role in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) field,” said WIT president and Ferris business administration senior Quincee Denault. “I think it’s beneficial to bring a group together that has similarities and to talk about those similarities and the challenges of being a female in a male-dominated field.
The group does Technology Engineering Aptitude (TEA) events with elementary and middle school girls, where they do hands-on engineering projects with the kids, such as building a hovercraft with a bag of random supplies and then having a competition to see whose works the best.
“It’s a lot of creative thinking and problem solving,” said Denault.
In addition to working with kids, the members of WIT tour places such as construction sites, participate in Ferris events such as The Big Event and even help undecided students find a major if they are interested in math and science by teaching them about the opportunities in the College of Engineering Technology.
“It’s open for everyone,” said Denault. “This year, we also had a few males join the group.”
Denault said her favorite part about being president was seeing all the members get involved.
“We had a lot of new members this year who had never been in WIT before, and there were a bunch of them who just dove right in,” she said. “Just seeing people realize the benefit of joining a group like WIT, I think that’s the coolest thing about being the president.”
As newly-elected president Chelsey Porter takes over WIT, Denault said she hopes to see the group’s presence on campus increase.
“I’m really excited for the new group,” said Denault. “If we could get more steady numbers throughout the year, that would be really cool.”
Denault’s advice for the next WIT group and for Porter is to “definitely explore every opportunity for the group and try to get as many opportunities for the members as you can, because it really does make a difference. You can get so many opportunities from an RSO like WIT. It really influences your Ferris career.”
WIT meetings are every other Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Swan 202.