Women In STEM Series – Meet Kaylee Gaut
Meet Kaylee Gaut! She is an Industrial and Systems Engineering senior who is graduating this December. Growing up, her favorite subject was math. She has always enjoyed her math classes and found that math came naturally to her.
Coming into CCU, Kaylee was undecided on what route she wanted to take.
Originally, she was going to major in Computer Information Systems (CIS); however many of the dual credits she took in high school would not transfer for credit within the CIS major. For example, she had Calculus 1 and 2 credits to transfer from high school. These classes, however, were requirements for the Industrial and Systems Engineering major, so she decided to switch to engineering and see if she liked it. It had a lot of interesting classes that Kaylee thought she might enjoy.
Kaylee believes that being a woman in STEM means that things are interesting. Depending on the specific field a woman picks, women can oftentimes be the minority. These fields are predominantly chosen by men.
However, women are still able to pursue careers in those fields.
Kaylee loves the challenge that comes with being in STEM. She understands that not everything will be easy. It is extremely rewarding when a difficult task or subject finally makes sense which can be a huge confidence boost. Kaylee is fascinated by how versatile her field is. She can apply her knowledge to multiple fields such as healthcare, missions, or any other field since everything is a system that engineers can utilize to help those in need.
Kaylee’s favorite class here at CCU was Human Factors. It was an extremely interesting class. For example, they looked at signs within an airport. They analyzed whether the hearing levels were okay to hear announcements, if those signs were clear enough for people to follow without getting lost, and which colors work best to warn people.
It has caused Kaylee to continuously apply the knowledge that she has learned from this class to discover different human factors within our world.
Some challenges that Kaylee has had to overcome is that engineering can sometimes push you to your breaking point to allow you to see how far you can go. Additionally, it can be challenging being the only girl in your class, however Kaylee was fortunate to have another girl in her class that is now her best friend. She has gotten to know the guys in her class as well because her engineering classes are so small.
Some advice Kaylee would give to others pursuing STEM is to not shy away from the difficult classes.
Some people might not choose engineering because of the Calculus or Physics requirements but you just need to pass the classes. A lot of the engineering classes are more application based. Therefore, if you are considering a career within STEM, do not be afraid of the hard classes because it will be worth it and everyone is struggling together.
One thing Kaylee loves about CCU is the countless conversations she gets to discuss about what it means to be a Christian engineer in a secular workplace.
They have written a lot of papers where they talk about the intersection between engineering and their faith. What would you do if you are asked to do something that is morally wrong? Will you stand up for what is right or go with the flow? She also mentions how our Christian worldview affects everything we do.
One thing Kaylee wants others to know about her is that she loves being active. She really enjoys soccer and being outdoors. Also, pickleball is becoming a new love of hers.
