Mechanical Engineers at RIX Embrace #ILookLikeAnEngineer

If you haven’t heard, the Twitter campaign #ILookLikeAnEngineer has taken the internet by storm, and there’s no sign of it slowing down. Created by Isis Anchalee, a full-stack engineer at OneLogin, the hashtag promotes gender diversity in technology. Since Anchalee’s post went viral on Medium, her story and cause has gained increasing momentum and involvement on social media by engineers across multiple disciplines and industries.

Inspired by Anachalee’s story, two mechanical engineers at RIX Industries, Lesley and Tatiana, were happy to share what engineering means to them in this exclusive interview:

What inspired you to pursue engineering as a career?

Lesley:  I liked math in school and I wanted to do something practical and hands on. I’ve always liked fixing things and problem solving so that is what keeps me having fun at work!

Tatiana:  I think my earliest inspiration was my dad encouraging me (okay, maybe “letting” or “grudgingly permitting” is more accurate) to disassemble things in our house to my heart’s content, regardless of how many things I broke.

Tell us a little about your schooling to become an engineer. 

Lesley:  I attended Harvey Mudd College in southern California and majored in engineering. The engineering major at Harvey Mudd is a general engineering education, so we got exposure to various disciplines and did 3-4 specific courses and engineering clinic projects in the area that we chose to focus on. I chose fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, and mechanical design related courses and clinic projects.

Tatiana:  I majored my undergrad in mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. My love for Ann Arbor literally knows no end.

What do you love most about being an engineer at RIX Industries?

Lesley:  My favorite part of being an engineer is the creative aspects of problem solving and designing. As an engineer at RIX, I get to be a part of the whole process, from concept design to build and test. This makes the whole process more fun and rewarding! I also appreciate being a part of RIX’s impressively long history of building air and nitrogen compressors.

Tatiana:  RIX seemed to me like a great place that would encourage me to apply all of my engineering skills rather than a narrow subset. I absolutely love being able to watch a pile of parts and ideas come together to form a working machine!

What do you like to do outside of engineering? 

Lesley:  Hiking and camping on the weekends is my favorite. I also like to cook and get lots of exercise outside.

Tatiana: I like cycling, cult films, and trying new restaurants. I spend a lot of time contemplating how I can really become the best cat lady  I can be, kidding. I don’t even have a cat… yet. 

About RIX Industries:  RIX Industries manufactures a wide range of reciprocating piston compressors for industrial gases and breathing air, specializing in oil-free technology and high pressure. As a company that has been in business since 1878, RIX has built a foundation of stability with over 137 years of experience. With an extensive product line in a variety of markets, the company specializes in building to customer requirements. RIX maximizes on innovation by introducing new products with improved technologies. Regardless of the job size and specs, RIX employees go above and beyond to satisfy their customers. For this reason, RIX stands for engineered innovation.

You can learn more about different ways you can get involved with the #ILookLikeAnEngineer movement at www.ILookLikeAnEngineer.com.