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Community college CAD design graduate enters career as woman in STEM

[SPOKANE, Wash.] When Meagan Eirls first graduated from high school nine years ago, she wasn’t sure what the future looked like, but she knew she wanted more than to settle into a job that wasn’t checking all the boxes. 

“I was originally going to school to be a teacher and found out that I don’t enjoy that kind of work,” Eirls said. “I was kind of disheartened after that because I never really had a path in mind. I’d never really had a dream job and didn’t really have anything I wanted to do.” 

Eirls said after seeing her parents work through jobs that they hated, and now seeing them both in jobs they love is part of what inspired her to pursue something more for her career.  

“Growing up seeing that — I didn’t want that, and I knew I wanted to do something I one hundred percent liked,” she said. “This isn’t even about making more money, it’s about doing something that I enjoy.” 

Eirls fell in love with 3-D Computer and Aided Design and Drafting as a junior in high school but didn’t know there was an opportunity to pursue it as a career path until seven years after graduating. 

Fast forward to June and you’ll find Eirls walking across the graduation stage with an Associate of Applied Science in Professional-Technical CAD Design and Drafting.  

When Eirls discovered the CAD program with her roommate, she realized there was an opportunity for her to wake up every morning and be passionate about her work.  

Eirls joined the engineering club within her first quarter.  

“I was very nervous at first because it is a very male dominated kind of area, but I’m glad I ended up doing it.” 

Eirls has been a part of the club for two years now.  

During her last year at SCC, she started working with SCC CARES — Community Awareness, Resources and Engagement Services where she designed flyers, coordinated food drives, and helped students gain access to basic resources they needed.  

After graduation Eirls is gearing up to take on a bigger city far from Spokane, where she can work alongside engineers in a small business model. 

“I am really grateful for this program and that it exists,” Eirls said. “I feel like STEM isn’t a very popular kind of subject and it’s definitely very male dominated, so it’s exciting going into this field as a woman.” 

With her degree, the possibilities for what each day has in store for Eirls is endless. She could be building modeled parts, creating hydraulic and pneumatic schematics or creating blueprints.  

For more information on graduation, read the SCC Graduation Page.  

Posted On

6/3/2024 9:12:10 AM

Posted By

Kayla Friedrich

Tags

CCS SCC

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