BEAUMONT, Texas — A group of Lamar University students are gearing up to tip the scales of the engineering industry. Out of the 16 graduating students, eight of the them are women.
This is the one of the largest groups of female graduates the university has seen in the engineering field in years, according to the university.
"I feel like women in engineering, it's just like a little community," said student Brianna Taylor.
Six of the graduating women are undergraduates, while the other two are graduate students.
"When I graduated there were 12 students. I was the only female. To see so many women entering into the field, that is very positive for me and heartening," said Associate Professor Annette Hernandez.
All of the women come from different backgrounds but have the same goals. Some are first generation college graduates and one is even a mom of twins.
"Balancing between going to pick them up from daycare and making sure the classes match. Then at the end of the day I had to bathe them and feed them and I still had homework to do," said Yessenia Castro, a student.
They say despite facing several obstacles during their last four years at Lamar, they never stopped working towards their goals of becoming civil engineers.
"I was raised in Mexico so technically math is the same here, and in Mexico, and anywhere around the world. That was the subject I was better at because for English, let's say history I didn't understand," Kimberly Cabrera, a student, told 12News.
Each student's path to graduation has looked different< each with their own unique challenges.
"I struggled in many subjects since I have ADHD and dyslexia but that didn't stop me. Instead I focused on going after school and before school with my professors and teachers to learn as much as I can," said student Frisda Rosenbuam.
Now the women are sharing messages for young girls at home.
"If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything you want," said Melissa Tan, a student.
"We are excited we are going to make some impact I hope we will do good," said student Rakshya Shrestha.
"We came to the U.S because we wanted to explore the U.S. It has better opportunities than our country," said Reena Shrestha.
Several of the graduates already have jobs lined up. One will be working at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, another will be working at Dashiell Corporation, an electrical company.
One will be working at Ineos, a chemical company in La Porte, another will work at Consor Engineers in Houston and one will be working at the Texas Department of Transportation.