Alum uses her voice and time to help others succeed
Waterloo Engineering alumnus Amy Charette (BASc ’94, mechanical engineering) remembers how in her first-year of studies she was one of four women students in a class with 76 men. It surprised her but didn’t faze her. She got involved with EngSoc and put her hand up for leadership roles in class and at her residence – mainly because it was a great way to meet people.
On December 6, 1989, during Charette’s first term, 14 women – most of whom were engineering students – were murdered at the École Polytechnique de Montréal in an antifeminist mass shooting. This horrific event led to the formation of Waterloo's Women in Engineering (WiE) committee and Charette soon became a member.