从她能回忆起的那一刻起, Cline, a 麦迪逊,俄亥俄州 native, 想成为一名工程师，却不知道自己在做什么.
“我记得看着我爸爸, 谁是炼铁工人, 然后问他, ‘What’s a job you can do to just solve problems and puzzles all the time?’他告诉我那是个工程师，”克莱恩说.
因为她在学校里一直表现优异, Cline narrowed her focus to two institutions to continue her academic journey: an engineering stalwart in The University of Akron and a then-engineering upstart in Mount Union. 因为她的家庭遇到了一些经济困难, her mom was working two jobs and thought the private university option might be out of reach.
“My mom didn’t even want to visit Mount,克莱恩说, grinning. “Once I visited and appreciated the one-on-one interactions with faculty in the program, we sat down with financial aid and learned how affordable Mount could be, 剩下的就是历史了.”
有效的经验
当被问及她最喜欢的联合山记忆时, Cline, who was very involved throughout her undergraduate career in athletics and as a sister of Alpha Chi Omega, had the pensiveness of someone answering the “Final Jeopardy” question. In the end, she shared an experience that is actually a requirement of engineering majors.
“伯利兹的全球工程之旅令人难以置信,” she said, reflecting. “Getting to make those memories with my peers and having the chance to serve an underdeveloped community are things I’ve brought with me into my career today.”
服务学习的理念对克莱恩产生了深远的影响, 在毕业典礼即将到来之际，我回到了美国, her future began to take shape before her eyes in a uniquely serendipitous way.
“我在芒特大学大三的时候, I was awarded an Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges scholarship provided by CESO, Inc.” she said. “当我去见公司感谢他们的时候. [Hans] Tritico pushed me to ask if they had any internship openings. They did, which then led to me being hired full-time at CESO before I even graduated.”
留下她的印记
克莱恩今年是她在CESO的第七年, and her impressive ascent has led her to be a lead project engineer after earning two promotions in that time. 在这个角色中, she leads a team of traffic engineers and works on designs and traffic patterns for major clients like Love’s Travel Stops, FedEx, and Sheetz.
继续攀升CESO的排名, one of Cline’s core beliefs is finding purpose through serving others, clearly illustrated through her fond memories of the Belize trip and other Mount Union service-learning experiences. 这也是她喜欢在CESO工作的原因之一, which has annual “Impact Days” when offices close and employees volunteer at local nonprofits.
在CESO找到了一个专业的家, Cline became more comfortable in being the authentic leader she knew she had the potential to be. 同时也是她所在行业的女性领袖, Cline, 谁认为自己是女同性恋, still had slight apprehension about fully opening up and coming out at work. Those worries were eased after being welcomed by her peers when she came out to them, continuing the success of a positive environment where she could thrive and lead.
“我真的很紧张要和我的老板们分享这个消息, I’m gay, 希望这不会改变什么,克莱恩说. “But the amount of love and support I received after coming out to them has been incredible and one of the reasons I continue to love my job. 我为自己和我的工作建立的声誉也有帮助, 随着我事业的发展，这一切都变得更好了.”
帮助下一代
Alongside the service done through CESO and her personal endeavors, Cline also volunteers her time as a mentor through a variety of outlets. Currently, she serves as a member of Mount Union’s 工程 Advisory Board, 在她高中母校的全女性机器人团队担任顾问, 并一直是建筑的导师, 建设, and 工程 (ACE) Mentor Program of Greater Akron-Canton for the past five years.
在ACE工作期间, Cline has mentored dozens of high school students at three different schools. She has also created a pipeline between ACE and Mount Union’s Experience 工程 Summer Program so that interested high school students can get hands-on engineering opportunities before college. Regardless of project or interest, Cline is proud to be a resource for students.
“My advice to future engineering students is always to keep going. Even though it can be tough, if you are willing to do the work, the experience pays off,克莱恩说. “I mean, I used to think the liberal arts classes we took were not useful, 但现在我的大部分工作是写报告并展示它们, 这一点既重要又有趣.”
Cline is simply one example of a woman leading with impact in a male-led industry, 尤其是女性在科学领域的比例, Technology, 工程, 和数学(STEM)领域继续攀升. She and a growing group of innovators are ensuring the next generation is prepared to advance in their pursuit of inspiring change.