Building Women in Construction is a new philanthropic organization in the Department of Building Construction. Their mission is to inspire women to become future leaders in construction through personal, professional, and academic successes. Their purpose is to unite women students studying construction-related disciplines and help provide additional support and resources to help women succeed in this field of study. The group was founded this semester and already has fourteen members, including five executive members and four faculty members.
Two members, Holland Hall and Kathryn Hart (President) recently gave a tour of the Bishop-Favrao Hall shop to four elementary school girls in a local Lego club. They introduced the girls to various machines in the shop, the most intriguing of which were the drone and the 3D printer, and they printed out a Lego for the group. According to Kathryn,
"Building Women in Construction values education. We want to find opportunities to interact with young girls and introduce them to what we do here at Tech. We want to encourage a continuous interest in science, technology, and more specifically, construction."
The group has already proved to be of value to its members in connecting with industry leaders and sharing their thoughts on the profession. Their goal is to eventually be able to connect with other universities and expand Building Women in Construction to other schools.
Both men and women with an interest in empowering women within the field of construction are able to join the organization; any membership inquiries can contact Treasurer Jade McNair at jmcnair1@vt.edu.
