2017 Alyssa Williams
Operation Minerva: Mentor Company – Kinder Morgan
Have you wondered how many women actually work in the science field? All of us know that the percentage of women in the science field is low, but do you actually know how low the percent is? The scary truth is that only 11% of all engineers are women and 40% of women will leave the science field after the age of 30. Women and girls are choosing not to pursue a career in the science field not because of their mathematical or science abilities but because they are being told that “girls do not belong in science” or “girls aren’t going to do as well in engineering as men will”. These statements could not be farther from the truth. When we say these statements we are teaching younger generations of girls that they are not equal to boys, which isn’t true. Recent studies have shown that boys and girls are equally matched in subjects regarding science and math. A study done by Harvard University, a top American university, showed that young boys and girls did not perform differently on tasks with underlying mathematical abilities. This stereotype, that boys are better equipped for engineering than girls, is discouraging girls to pursue an engineering profession. This generation is trying to reverse the stigma surrounding young girls by encouraging them to go into the science field. All things considered, we are definitely moving forward with this, but we still have more work to do.
Operation Minerva is one of the company’s/ organizations working to reverse the stereotype. Every year they take 80-90 grade 8 girls to follow a successful female STEM professional around for a day. This organization is really changing the face of science by encouraging young girls to go into the science field. Operation Minerva encourages, maintains, and promotes Grade 8 girls to continue in the science and math field after high school and college. This experience is filled with presentations and activities and it leaves the girls who participated wanting to continue in science and math.
I was lucky enough to be chosen by my science teacher to participate in Operation Minerva. My day began at Signal Hill Mall, where I met my bus supervisor and 6 other like-minded girls. During the bus ride to the Girl Guides Center, all 7 of us were able to talk about how we got to the point where we are and what got us to be able to participate in Operation Minerva. Once we reached the Girl Guides Center we were giving an explanation about what would be happening that day. We were also given our free bags and schedules. We were then split off onto the buses that would take us downtown to our mentor companies. Once we got downtown we were once again split up into our groups for the day and walked to our companies. I got the opportunity to be paired up with Kinder Morgan Canada. Kinder Morgan Canada is an oil and gas company. This company ships crude and refined oil products from western Alberta to British Columbia and the United States. My day there was a lot more fun than I thought and it really opened my eyes to how companies like these operate.
Once we got to Kinder Morgan Canada, our mentors had us do an activity to get to know each other. We went around the room introduced ourselves and what school we were from, how we were able to participate in Operation Minerva, and what we aspire to be. We then watched a presentation on what Kinder Morgan does and all of our mentors for the day gave a presentation on their job and what it took to get there. In between these two presentations we had the chance to meet the CEO of Kinder Morgan and he talked to us for a little bit. After this we had two presentations about waste management in Kinder Morgan and the process of cleaning up an oil spill. The first presentation went through the different kinds of waste, which ones Kinder Morgan produces and the most effective way to deal with non-toxic or toxic waste. This next presentation went explored various ways to clean up oil spills and the process of cleaning and releasing the affected animals. This presentation really opened up my eyes to how hard and long of a process these animals have to go through. To help us really understand this concept we had to soak a bird feather in vegetable oil and try to clean it off. Our next presentation quickly went through how Kinder Morgan maintains their public image. After a quick break we started off the afternoon with a presentation about pipeline cleaning processes. This whole presentation went into detail about how pipelines are cleaned and maintained and how pipelines are repaired. We then had the experience to see inside each of our mentor’s daily jobs when they talked about what each of their job’s entailed and what their responsibilities were. A good portion of our afternoon was then spent on fire extinguisher training and hazardous material response. In the fire extinguisher training we were able to go down to ground level and practice with level A fire extinguishers. During the hazardous material response session we not only were able to try on the suits they wear for oil spill clean ups but we also got to see what’s in a 72 hour Emergency Supplies Kit. This day showed me that there is so much more to engineering and building a pipeline and how important pipelines really are.
Our mentors really inspired me because they were able to talk about their challenges in a male dominated field and how they were able to overcome these challenges. This day truly is life changing because it really opens our eyes up to how important it is for girls to continue in the science field. My experience showed me that majority of jobs require team work, patience and a sense of calmness in emergencies, and an education beyond high school. Without this day where I could experience what a day in the real world looks like, I never would have thought to consider a career in engineering. Operation Minerva is changing the face of science as they encourage young girls to go into the science field. Seeing girls become more involved in the science field is something I would like to see for myself and younger generations. Thank you Operation Minerva, for encouraging young girls to go into the science field and inspiring them to do it even if it’s hard because the best things are sometimes the hardest.
