Meet Natasha M. Mejias!
We are starting our Girls in Civil series!
What does this mean? Well, every month, we will be sharing stories about women, girls, and minorities. They could be students or professionals in the construction or civil engineering fields. Our goal is to inspire other people to feel motivated, confident to enter the field. We can create a valuable connection with more people in the field by sharing their stories. So, let’s begin!
We are starting our series with the wonderful Natasha M. Mejias!
Pronouns: She/her/hers
From: Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Currently a Senior student at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM) Campus. She will graduate in May 2021 with a bachelor’s degree of Science in Civil Engineering. She works at the PR Transportation Technology Transference Center, assisting on webinar presentations, literature review, and technical writings. She is the President of the ASCE UPRM Student Chapter. Right now, she’s also working part-time during the day as an Engineering Technician at GeoCim Inc in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
Here's she is at a Summer 2019 REU at UT Austin.
What motivated her to be a person in the Civil Engineering field?
Since she was little, she always loved to be artsy and creative as she enjoyed math and science classes. After evaluating the different career choices she had in front of her, she thought Civil Engineering would be the best fit (and she doesn't regret it).
Concrete Canoe Nationals at FIT in June 2019.
What have been the main challenges she has encountered throughout her career?
Figuring out how to make smart moves to achieve my career goals, instead of many random ones that probably wouldn’t get me as far.
Accepting failure and learning from it
Learning to accept help and constructive criticism
Staying true to myself and always making an impact through the things I do, even when the road gets bumpy.
And what did she learned from them?
"I’ve learned that you need to let other people help you and inspire you to become your better self so that you can do the same to those that come behind you, and to embrace the whole process because that’s life, and nothing good ever comes the easy way."
2020 UPRM Concrete Canoe Paddling Team. She was the captain of the team.
Why is she a Girl in Civil?
"I’m a girl in civil because I haven’t let society dictate what my future will be. I love my career, I’m aware of all the possibilities that are in front of me, and I’m not afraid to choose and fight for the things that I dream of."
Here's a piece of advice she shares with you!
"My advice for others would be to embrace all that life has to offer (your past, your heritage, your journey, the obstacles and failures you’ve encountered, what drives you to wake up every morning to work for the things you want) and to leap, always, with or without fear. That is how you grow and how you find yourself and what makes you happy."
Here are a few fun facts about Natasha!
Natasha spends her free time mountain biking!
She also has incredible artistic skills!
She loves to write! In May 2020, she was a guest writer for Reinvented magazine, a magazine dedicated to reinventing the general perception of women in STEM fields while inspiring interest in STEM for young women worldwide! She even won Best Guest Blog Post of the Year.
She loves to create jewelry with clay! She even has a page where she shares her artistic skills. Check her page and show some support!
