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Since the first female student enrolled in 1889, more than 10,000 women have earned degrees from Michigan Tech. To cap off this year’s Alumni Reunion, there will be a celebration to recognize the Women of Michigan Tech—alumnae, staff and faculty past and present, partners, donors and friends.
The celebration takes place from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday (Aug. 5) at the Great Lakes Research Center and is the last scheduled event of the three-day reunion.
In the March 28 issue of the TechAlum Newsletter, one of the events organizers, Sally Heidtke ’81, explained the motivation behind the celebration.
“We wanted to create an event within the alumni reunion to connect with alumnae, remember the past and talk about what’s ahead for us.”
Heidtke said her first experience at Tech was the Women in Engineering Summer Youth Program in 1975. That experience guided her to where she needed to be and what she needed to study. “It confirmed my decision to study engineering and I really loved the campus experiences.”
She said her fondest memories of Michigan Tech were of friends and classmates, especially friendships with other women.
“We enjoyed being in an environment whre everyone seemed to like science and math. We searcched to find ourselves as young women pursing a challenging career outside the norm of what most of our peers and family were doing. It was a grand adventure.”
Saturday’s Alumni event will celebrate that “grand adventure.”
In addition to affording an opportunity to reconnect with friends and former classmates, the Women of Tech Reunion features a silent auction fundraiser to support scholarships for female students.
The Women of Tech Reunion is open to everyone.
