Lucy Cook grew up in Wylie. She remembers driving down Country Club Road and watching city hall emerge from a grass field. Today, she is having a similar experience with the new Collin College Wylie Campus, but this time it is different – she is an integral part of the process, and she is forging a path for girls to follow in her footsteps.
“To be able to be part of developing this community further and building an entire new Collin College campus has been extremely satisfying and given me a sense of purpose in my career,” said Cook, a Skanska USA project engineer. “The impact to the community is evident with new businesses and all the economic growth due to the new Collin College Wylie Campus. It gives me so much pride to be a part of this project.”
Cook wants young girls to have the opportunity to join her in future careers at the construction site. That is why she spearheaded a project that introduces high school students to career opportunities in construction, engineering, and architecture. She initially heard about the “Day of Discovery” at Skanska’s New York office and decided to tailor it to the Wylie ISD Career Technology Education program.
Female students from Wylie High School and Wylie East High School recently had the opportunity to participate in the local “Day of Discovery.” Sponsored by Skanska Women’s Network, the event included a tour of Collin College’s new Wylie Campus (with a visit from Wylie Mayor Eric Hogue), lunch, as well as speakers including a panel discussion and Q&A with women in the industry.
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”48″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″]According to Dr. Mary McRae, Wylie Campus VP/Provost, this event is the perfect example of innovation, supported by strong relationships, between industry and educational institutions.
“The opportunity to work with Skanska and Wylie ISD together on a project shows the dynamic partnership we have with both groups,” McRae said. “The most important element of the day was exposing the young women of WISD to the fields of construction management, architecture, engineering, and welding. To see these young ladies in their hard hats onsite at the Wylie Campus was terrific.”
Students enjoyed the sneak peek of the new campus and were inspired by the stories and advice from the panelists.
Future architect, Collin College dual credit student, and Wylie High School junior Aly Youngers said the day’s events helped assure her that she selected the correct career field.
“We met the architect in charge of exterior design of the central utility building,” Youngers said. “I was so excited. I was seeing a construction site at work. With careers you are not sure if they are for you, but I felt like, yeah, I want to do this. I can see myself 20 years from now doing this job.”
Youngers added that having the Wylie Campus near the high school will make it easier to take Collin College classes.
“For some of us it is inconvenient to have to drive to campuses in Plano or Frisco, but now we will have one literally across the street,” Youngers said. “I would definitely encourage people to take dual credit classes. You save yourself a lot of money and you get high school and college credit.”
Wylie High School student Gabriella Williams is contemplating taking dual credit and undergraduate classes at the new campus. Her favorite class is welding, and she enjoyed learning about how the windows were added to the buildings at the campus.
“I liked how much teamwork and coordination goes into even one part of the school [Collin College Wylie Campus],” said Williams. “When the school is finished, I am going to compare it to what it looked like today.”
Williams added that she believes girls can become anything they imagine.
“I can’t wait to see when these girls graduate and take jobs in engineering. I think we should continue the push for more females in this field. It is so fun.”
Wylie East High School sophomore Eleri Carroll also enjoys her welding class at the high school and said she really wants to be a part of the construction field. Carroll enjoyed hearing the behind-the-scenes information about the construction of the new Wylie Campus and was inspired by the panel discussion members’ stories.
“They went into a lot of detail about what they have been through and gave us a lot of information for our lives in the future,” said Carroll, who also wants to inspire girls to achieve their goals. “Have confidence in yourself. Don’t doubt yourself. Always go for things you want. If you don’t, you’ll probably regret it later,” she said.
A sophomore at Wylie East High School, Kaileigh Contreras was also moved by the panelists’ stories.
“We need more girls in the industry,” Contreras said. “The talk made me feel inspired to continue what I want to do. I want to be on construction sites. I want to start my own company and start making neighborhoods.”
Hana Al-Jaser, Wylie High School sophomore, agrees with Contreras.
“This program encourages women in engineering, and it has given me motivation,” said Al-Jaser, who is contemplating taking dual credit classes. “Females should have every right to choose whatever they want. The future will be so much brighter. No matter the obstacles you face, I think you should work hard to go into what you want to major in.”
To watch a Channel 11 video of the event, click here.
Photos by Ian M. Halperin, Wylie ISD Executive Director of Communications and Community Relations