Last night I was awarded the Linda Parker Hudson Scholarship in Industrial and Systems Engineering and had the honor to sit down with Linda P. Hudson before the ceremonies. Ms. Hudson was one of two women to graduate in Systems Engineering from UF in 1972 and ever since then has been a pioneer in her field, becoming the first female CEO in the defense industry.

It was amazing to pick her brain on her successes and what working in the industry as a women in the 70s was like. Back then if someone harassed you in the workplace you couldn’t speak up because your job would be at risk. Women weren’t highly regarded in the workplace, but she decided that didn’t matter. If people told her she couldn’t do something, she was going to work harder and prove them wrong. The biggest piece of advice she gave us was that you truly don’t realize your potential, and if you set your goals higher, then you can achieve anything. Never did she think she would become CEO of a company, but with hard work and determination, anything is possible.

I’m so honored to have received this award, and look forward to what’s to come in my future career. I am incredibly grateful for women like Ms. Hudson for setting the path for women in engineering and for being great role models!