Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens in theaters Dec. 17. All Together asked SWE members to let us know what the characters of Star Wars and science fiction films have meant to them and their careers in STEM.
Elizabeth Bierman, FY15 SWE President, is a principal systems engineer at Honeywell Aerospace and a Star Wars fan.
I was born in 1975 so Star Wars was a part of my childhood. I have two younger brothers, which means Barbies always lost out to Star Wars toys and games in our house.
Growing up, I didn’t know what an engineer was, or what one did. Honestly, I didn’t even know the word “engineer,” but I had a fascination for science and space. In 5th grade, I realized that some engineers were astronauts, and I thought that was pretty cool, which is why I went into aerospace engineering.
Star Wars did have an impact on my career in engineering. It provided me an avenue to reach my imagination. Star Wars was THE science fiction movie of its time, showcasing amazing special effects and taking movie-goers to new worlds with different life forms. Watching Star Wars, I could venture outside my normal life and occupy a new universe where robots were my friends, and we could travel between planets together.
Along with C3PO and R2-D2, there was Yoda. He was the master who told his students all they needed to beat the dark side was the power within themselves. It was a subtle message throughout the movie but very powerful to me. Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker always triumphed over the dark side because the Jedi had confidence within themselves to prevail. That message registered with me at an early age and stuck with me throughout the years.
So will I see the new Stars Wars movie? Of course! And I look forward to the eternal message that you can do anything when you set your mind to it. That knowledge has kept me going in engineering for the last 30 years, and I hope it will influence the next generation of engineers and scientists to pursue their dreams, too.
Written By
Elizabeth Bierman
FY15 SWE President
Principal Systems Engineer
Honeywell Aerospace
We want to see your Star Wars experience on SWE’s social media channels! Share your best Star Wars costume or scenes from a Star Wars-themed party you’re attending. Or tell us how science fiction inspired your career in STEM. Use the hashtag #TheSWEForceAwakens – Tweet @SWEtalk, post a picture to Instagram or shout us out on Facebook.
