GRACE AUTOSPORT ALIGNS WITH SOCIETY
OF WOMEN ENGINEERS IN STEM EXPO

Grace Autosport recently participated in the Society of Women Engineers WE15 Expo, the world's largest conference and career fair for women in engineering and technology in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. The event attracted a global audience of thousands of women from all stages of their engineering careers. From young college girls seeking new job opportunities to experienced professionals growing their careers, this year's "Reach Out to Reach Up" theme drew some of the brightest and most influential engineers from around the world.

“For 65 years, SWE has served as a voice for women in engineering and an outlet to turn to for professional and personal development,” said Colleen Layman, president of SWE. “WE15 is a place where we can not only celebrate the hard work of our members and the great advancements of the women in the engineering community, but network with our peers and explore opportunities to better ourselves in our professions and in our lives.”  

Grace Autosport had a multi-functional role in the WE15 event: A display featuring a 3-D race car, suitable for photos, along with engineers and Grace Autosport staff to answer questions about the race team and careers in motorsports; A SWE lightning talk for WE15 participants with Firestone Tires' IndyCar Tire Engineer Cara Adams and Grace Autosports' Design Engineer Jessica Rowe; Distribution of Grace Autosport hero cards; An advance webinar conducted with Grace Autosports' Jessica Rowe.

Additionally, Grace Autosport participated in the "Invent It Build It" program, an experience designed to encourage girls to pursue a career in engineering and technology. The day-long program provided girls in 6th through 8th grades an opportunity to learn about careers in engineering and how engineering plays a role in everyday life. In addition to talking with the attendees, Grace staff had fun with the young ladies by participating in hands-on group activities, including Grace Autosport's trivia games and the opportunity to win Gracelets (Grace bracelets), among other activities.

"Being a part of WE15 is what Grace Autosport is all about," said Team Principal Beth Paretta. "The opportunity to present a new idea in the STEM arena to these young ladies is what really makes this effort worthwhile. Partnering with the Society of Women Engineers to inspire girls to continue a path in science, technology, engineering and math, and to show it can be interesting and fun, was a great experience. I personally enjoyed hearing their stories and knowing we have some great young ladies coming through the pipeline to real world careers. If we're lucky, maybe a few of these talented young women will join us in motorsports in the future."

Watch our website for future STEM program alliances or reach out to us if you have a program that might fit what Grace Autosport is all about. Grace Autosport -- a team driven by women.