University of Akron student Pailey Vitale with school mascot, Zippy. Photo: Maria Curi/Axios
The University of Akron's $7.1 million workforce initiative for the sustainable polymers industry is just taking shape, but some students are already well on their way to filling jobs.
Why it matters: The U.S. is grappling with a massive workforce shortage and women, who historically have been underrepresented in STEM, could fill the gaps.
- The government, universities and companies are making a concerted effort to recruit and retain more women.
Axios sat down with Pailey Vitale, a 20-year old junior at Akron. Vitale is among the first to major in polymer science and engineering, a track that was created her freshman year.
- The university's new workforce initiative aims to enroll 120+ students annually for certificate, two-year, four-year and graduate programs.
This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
How did you end up here?
My father would push me towards summer camps around STEM or I would go to women in STEM events on Saturdays growing up.
- My dad wants me to be smarter than he was. I love my parents and it's always great to have the support in whatever I choose to do. He was originally in STEM and now he runs his own business.
When you got here, did you find that most of the classes you were in were heavily male dominated or was it pretty equal?
In the beginning it was pretty equal in the basic math, chemistry and physics requirements that most engineers go through.
- I was able to find a good community of girls so I didn't really notice an imbalance as much as I think I would have if I wouldn't have found people.
- I joined a sorority, we're a women in engineering sorority. We just started our chapter about a year ago now. We go and do fun things as a group, we have study sessions, and we can just uplift each other.
Does the tech hub's environmental mission resonate with you, and is that something that you want to center in your own career?
That's definitely a factor that I want to consider whenever I'm looking for careers. If I decide to go into industry, then I always want to make sure the company has a sustainability focus.
- I'm in a design team, Zips Precious Plastics, and we make 100% recycled key chains. We use laundry detergent bottles and bottle caps on water bottles that are mostly from the dorm rooms.
- I'm in a group on campus called Engineers for a Sustainable World and we focus on teaching our peers how to be more sustainable in college life.
- And we also do K-12 outreach and teach them about sustainability within STEM.
What kind of career could this lead you to?
I'm more of an engineer than a scientist. I want to know how things are made and how things work, rather than forming chemical structures or coming up with a new polymer.
- I could go into paints or coatings or automotive; some companies are trying to do sustainability-focused projects. Then there's also companies that are focusing on the processing point of polymers.
- But they all kind of align, so it just kind of depends on where I want to go.
Why do you think women in STEM is important?
It's good to have an array of perspectives that women can bring to the table.
- Seeing male dominance in executive positions in different companies, that's not always the best thing that us as women want to see.
- I typically have only seen women in a hiring manager position or HR or marketing, but I would prefer to see them in engineering roles.
