“So you want to be a professor?” When I first tell people that I am pursuing a Ph.D. in Engineering Education, nine times out of ten that is the first question they ask. In my previous program, I was usually asked, “What is Human Factors Engineering?” so I know I’ll have a rehearsed answer in no time. I was previously working as a Human Factors researcher in the defense industry so switching to the education side of engineering would be a new journey.
So what is Engineering Education? When I was finishing up my masters, I looked into several programs to try to answer this question. I had a passion for teaching engineering students as a Teaching Assistant and loved participating in various outreach/recruiting events while working on my undergrad and master’s degree at Wright State University. Near the end of my master’s, I wanted to know if there was a degree that could channel those passions. First off, while teaching is part of our program, I found that by pursuing a Ph.D. in Engineering Education it meant that I would join a community of researchers. Although I recently joined at the beginning of January 2019, I quickly learned about the diverse wealth of topics my peers and professors were pursuing. Fortunately, I was able to dive into Engineering Education research by joining the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) project and have already submitted an abstract for FIE in the fall.
As a researcher, I already feel empowered to explore topics that I am passionate about in my classes. While I have performed research in the Human Factors field before, I feel like I am questioning how and why we perform research…and I am loving it. Within my first month in the program, I feel like I have already grown as a researcher through content learned in my classes, and through discussing concepts with my peers. I see this time as an opportunity to reinvent myself and learn about different methods to approach research and teaching. My hope is that one day I too can empower young engineers in their studies and goals, especially Women in Engineering as I have experienced that path. John C. Maxwell said, “Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” and I am ready to embrace the challenges ahead and my growth as an Engineering Education Researcher.
-Renee Rigrish Pelan