It Started Here
Fantastic article (“Where the Society Started,” summer 2015)! My son currently attends Drexel where he is studying biomedical engineering. I loved hearing about the founding of the Society of Women Engineers. I remember receiving a certificate of achievement in high school from SWE for excellence in math and science and I was a member when I was in college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (’83). There were only about 7 percent women in mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin back then.
Mary Ellen Raymond
Former SWE member and Drexel parent
Rising Sun, Maryland
Family History
That’s my mom! It was thrilling to read “Where the Society Started.” My mom (C. Dolan in the picture on page 36 of the article) tells me of getting a C on a test where her male counterparts got an A for the same answers. When she asked the professor why, he told her she didn’t need an A because he knew she was only there to find a man. She went on to get her degree in chemical engineering and later also earned a degree in music at Chestnut Hill College. An amazing, smart, well-rounded person — I know she fought hard in a man’s world for things that men took for granted. My step-daughter received a scholarship from the SWE in 2008 and earned an engineering degree from Cal Poly a few years ago. Now her career is taking off, partly because of the persistence and strength of these Drexel women.
John Simon
Son of Catherine Simon (née Dolan) ’53
Sebastopol, California
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