Women MET Students and Graduates
The Mechanical Engineering Technology program
seeks to increase the number of women applying to and entering
the program. Employers seek a diverse pool of graduates from
our program. The opportunities for employment extend well beyond
manufacturing and include areas of public service such as managing
town water supplies, managing facilities for colleges and hospitals,
and designing mechanical systems for buildings.
Opportunities in this career field often require strong communication
skills and the ability to get along well with people who are
not engineers. Most modern production settings are clean and
the personal safety of the employees is strongly emphasized.
People in the workplace are typically expected to behave professionally
and to treat one another with respect.
The skills required for success in the program include a desire
to succeed, persistence, and a willingness to work hard for a
rewarding and interesting future. Prosepective students should
be ready to enter precalculus in the first semester and should
have taken Physics in high school . Most students today enter the program without any
background skills in computing, computer-aided design, or fabrication.
If you or a woman you know might be interested in a career in
Mechanical Engineering Technology, please contact Associate Professor
Karen Horton, 581-2136, karen.horton@umit.maine.edu.
MET graduate Jackie Flynn helps homebuyers by providing home
inspection services through her own company, Flynn Home Inspections.
Jacquelyn Flynn: Flynn Home Inspections
By John
Chesley
Jacquelyn Flynn knew that she wanted to be an
engineer when she started working on stockcars with her brother.
She enjoyed fixing things, and solving problems, as well as being
involved as a team member in the shop activities. Her family
was very supportive of her goal to become an engineer. She worked
hard to go to college, and once she got into the University of
Maine she worked harder at her goal of becoming a mechanical
engineer.
She found it very difficult her first year
a college, but she knew the only way that she could prove herself
was to work harder. She had no idea that the cause of her problems
was diabetes. She was diagnosed with diabetes and put on medication.
Once the source of the difficulty was recognized she was able
to handle the course load much easier “The only way to
show them was to do well, and then we found out that I had
diabetes.”
She was glad to see that the people at
the University of Maine were accepting of a woman in the program. “The professors
they are smart. They knew that I was an equal, and they treated
me that way.” She graduated from the University of Maine
says; “I was the first to graduate from college in my family.”
Jackie started her own home inspection
company, Flynn Home Inspections located in Fairfield, Maine.
She travels within the state conducting home inspections and
meeting with home buyers, and when asked what her job consists
of, she says: "Marketing mostly. Marking
to realtors. Home inspections and phone calls. Then going out
and doing the inspection." She says that she enjoys her
job and likes meeting new people “I like meeting people
and working with the clients, especially first time home buyers.” Jackie
enjoys working for herself and when asked about how secure she
feels about her line of work and the engineering field, she stated; "As
an engineer I don't think that it would be hard to find a job.
So, I feel very secure".
In Jackie’s free time she works with diabetes related
activities within the local community with a project called; "Move
More Diabetes.” It addresses issues in healthcare surrounding
self management, exercise and nutrition. Jackie also travels
in her free time with her husband. “I usually go to Massachusetts,
or Connecticut, but we also visit my husband's family in Michigan.”
