As part of our celebration of Arab American History Month, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is highlighting the journeys of Arab American women engineers, cheering their achievements, and providing insights into their professional experiences.
Today, we shine a spotlight on SWE member Amar Dabaja, an electrical hardware engineer inspiring the next generation of young girls, women engineers, and innovators interested in STEM fields. Read more about her engineering journey, role models, and her experiences with SWE over the years.
My Educational Background
I am an engineer by profession and at heart! I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Lawrence Technological University (LTU) in 2021. My fascination with circuits in high school physics led to my selection of an electronics concentration. I was amazed by the ability of minuscule electrons to synergize and amount to large and tangible applications in countless fields, from telecommunications to power and automobiles to medicine.
Despite challenges imposed by the pandemic, my educational experience at LTU presented valuable opportunities to explore my passions further, through diverse elective course offerings, funded undergraduate research, multidisciplinary team competition projects, student organizations, and more. My love for learning was strengthened, and I am now back at LTU as a part-time student pursuing graduate studies.
Here’s My SWE Story
I joined SWE as a collegiate member and was drawn by the sense of sisterhood fostered in our section. I benefited greatly from my membership through leadership experience, networking with students and professionals, conferences, outreach and volunteering, professional development events, career and mentorship resources, and scholarships. When I graduated, I decided to continue volunteering with SWE to give back and inspire more female engineers. Currently, I am the VP of communications of the SWE-Detroit professional section, and I help publicize our section activities related to professional development, outreach, and member engagement.
I have also held roles in other SWE groups. I joined the SWE Early Career Professionals Affinity Group in its inaugural year in 2021 and served various roles supporting new or recent engineering graduates. I also joined the SWENext Publications workgroup as a high school newsletter reporter for two years. In a time when females are still a minority in STEM, I am proud to represent SWE, as well as inspire prospective SWE-sters and highlight the amazing things that engineers do.
My Educational Role Model
My appreciation of and passion for education and lifelong learning are influenced by my hero: my mother. Her family moved from Lebanon to Michigan in 1990 when she was 12 years old. Circumstances warranted that she drop out of high school at 16. However, she never turned her back on education — she independently earned her GED and enrolled in ESL and technology courses. After her marriage and starting a family, she registered for at-home learning opportunities and earned a medical billing certificate in 2001 while caring for two young daughters.
But in 2004, when I was 6 years old, I lost my father to a car accident, and my family’s life took an unexpected turn. After the mourning period, my mother did something that would set a shining example to me for the rest of my life — she enrolled in a community college. She knew that she possessed the academic interest and perseverance needed to succeed as a student, and she needed to independently secure a future for her and her two daughters whom she was now raising alone. I watched her study through many nights and nurture in me an admiration of intellect.
My Engineering Role Models
Other role models in my academic and professional paths come from my favorite pastime — reading. Ever since I learned how symbols combine to form meaning, I’ve been hooked. I especially read about societal struggles and how they’ve shaped our human experiences. It’s shocking how many of these social issues are still ongoing, and I wonder what we can do to promote justice and improve global conditions, particularly as engineers.
Another topic of interest is the history of science and the Arab world. Many people don’t know that the period termed the Dark Ages in the West was, in fact, the “light ages” in the Arab world and other countries, which brought us the earliest universities, astrolabes, optical glasses, medical innovations, and more. Notable names from this period are polymaths Al-Khwarizmi and Ibn Roshd (Averroes), chemist Jaber Ibn Hayyan, and physician Ibn Sina (Avicenna).
On the modern side, the story of Hassan Kamel Al-Sabbah has had a great influence on my career path. He was a Lebanese American electrical engineer (just like me!) who worked for General Electric. Sadly, his career was cut short by a car accident, but he left behind over 50 patents and patent applications that have contributed to various technologies in fields such as solar energy and television transmission. It is incredibly inspiring and empowering to encounter role models whom you can relate to, which is exactly what brought me to SWE.
Where I Am Today
I am an electrical hardware engineer at Veoneer Safety Systems, an automotive electronics supplier. My work offers new learning experiences every day and can involve reviewing requirement specifications and standards, designing circuit schematics and layouts, and/or testing circuits against various environmental and electrical conditions. But what I love most about my role is the final product — I design crash detection and airbag control modules.
It is very fulfilling to contribute to the very field that deprived me of my father 20 years ago and to engineer a product meant to protect users around the world. It is this beauty of engineering that draws me — no matter the adversities we face, we can persist to overcome them and emerge with the capability to make the world a better place. I am honored to be able to share this message and inspire future generations of engineers through SWE.
