April 2014

NSPE TODAY
New Face Finds Motivation in Being the ‘Only Girl’

NSPE’s representative to the New Faces of Engineering for 2014 is Felicia Knox, E.I.T., an Oregon engineer working at SHN Consulting Engineers and Geologists Inc. in Coos Bay. In her brief time with the company, she has designed multiple drilled crossings with new and innovative techniques to bring economical and previously impossible solutions to districts on the West Coast.

The New Faces program, sponsored by DiscoverE, recognizes the outstanding abilities that engineers age 30 or younger have shown on projects that significantly impact public welfare or further professional development and growth.

When the application for the award asked what she wished she had been told about the profession before joining, Knox wrote that she wished she had known her “classmates and colleagues are going to be 85% male. Oh, and on a job site, you will be the only girl.” But she hasn’t let this reality hold her back. “This dynamic has only improved my confidence and the way I present myself. Because I am a woman, I am an engineer, and they better take me seriously.”

Knox participates in many volunteer activities, including Fundraising Against Cancer and helping a local fire department collect gifts and food for needy families. She says that “volunteering lifts burdens, creates opportunities, and brings happiness. I want to help make our world a better place.”