Meet Corina Fluker. She is a junior in Civil Engineering and minor in Spanish.

What made you choose this major?

“I have always been passionate about the environment and that’s kind of what I want to go into, particularly, water. Within Civil engineering, there is a subsection of environmental engineering which ties into water and wastewater treatment.”

How does being one of the only women in your classrooms affect your work ethic?

“It makes me work harder because I have to prove myself. If I don’t then people would just assume and wont take me as seriously by my male counterparts.”

What does your STEM classes typically look like gender-wise?

“For the most part it is usually me and one or two other girls in the room. For my surveying class, it was just me and one other girl out of like 22 other people. So, it’s a small percentage.”

Do your teachers tend to ask the males more questions than the females? If so, how does that make you feel?

“I feel like it’s random in my experience. The professors kind of ask the questions out loud and whoever answers, answers. They don’t really call on particular people.”

Have you completed any internships yet? 

“I have, but not necessarily in engineering. It was at an engineering firm in the HR department. It definitely gave me another perspective on the other side of things. Not in the field part.”

What is your future career?

“Working in water and wastewater management. I want to work with water and wastewater resources in Latin American countries because of all the natural disasters and such that are happening. Specifically, Puerto Rico, there are a lot of issues with residential areas not getting clean water. So, I want to work in areas like that.”

What impact do you want to make in your career?

“I just want to help people and help protect the environment. I want to create a world where people can live sustainably.”

What company do you wish to work for?

“I don’t have one in mind, but anything that has similar values to me and focuses on helping people.”

What do you want to achieve before you graduate college?

“I would like an internship. The big thing right now is that I am looking at professors to find a mentor to start doing research. So, I think, first of all, that is really cool. Second of all, I think it would be a great opportunity to get experience in college. That will add to my resume and hopefully makes me a better candidate for a job.”

If you had a message for anyone who is just now starting their major and is in the same major as you, what will it be?

“I feel like with civil engineering, it is difficult to understand what it really is until you get into the upper level classes. Just give it time. Of course it is a lot of CORE and stuff, but once you get into it, it gets really interesting. Just take the time, do some research, and make sure that it is really for you because you got to be in it for the long haul.”