Sofie Leon was an undergrad student at the Cal Poly, where she was studying engineering. She often found herself feeling out of place, since not only was she one of the only women within the program, but she was also a woman of color. She ended up using the experience surrounding these negative feelings into a form of advocacy by joining the Society of Women Engineers. The team now has a staff of several diverse women who contribute valuable knowledge and skill sets.
Key Takeaways:
- As an undergrad, Sofie Leon was the only woman of color in her science and engineering classes.
- Leon is now the director of Diversity Initiatives and Resource Centers at CSUF.
- After Leon’s Haitian-born father sparked her interest in engineering, she went on to study civil engineering and computer science.
“Fresh off her PhD, she went to Paris to work as the scientific coordinator at the Center for Research and Interdisciplinarity, where she developed and maintained the academic program for the interdisciplinary doctorate program.”