The “Her Stories: Adventures in STEM” blog series is a collection of stories about 20 women in science and engineering fields, written by members of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Pre-College Engagement and Support (PCES) Committee.
These inspiring women have experienced a variety of life experiences and career paths, and these stories and accompanying artwork help to capture the vast diversity of our featured scientists and engineers.
We hope this series will show you how exciting engineering and science can be and help you realize that anyone can choose to become a scientist or an engineer.
Story by Cailyn Hall
Laurie LaPat-Polasko, one of seven siblings, learned compassion at a young age. Her upbringing included unique interactions and experiences as a result of having two younger brothers with disabilities.
Laurie describes herself as a typical kid who kept busy with activities such as Girl Scouts, reading, learning languages, gymnastics, swimming, playing the flute, and theater. She was a self-proclaimed “best munchkin” in her theater’s production of “The Wizard of Oz.” Laurie was gifted with several talents — but as far as cooking, she’s still working on that.
When Laurie graduated high school, her parents encouraged her to stay in Illinois. However, she ended up at Chatham University, a women’s college in Pennsylvania, where she earned a four-year scholarship.
Laurie was set to study to become an interpreter, using her knowledge of six languages (Greek, German, Latin, Spanish, Italian, and English). Within the first week, she realized her passions for swimming and marine biology were stronger and changed her major.
Laurie’s parents were elated when she returned to Illinois during her freshman year for an internship; she got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work at the world-famous Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.
Laurie was once enamored with the diver who fed animals in the central coral reef tank during childhood visits to that aquarium, and now she was that diver. She spent the summer teaching elementary school kids about marine life and speaks fondly of that experience, even though her internship ended with a shark bite!
Laurie’s professional career has been anything but linear, and she embraces the idea that the more you try, the more you can understand what you want to do for a lifetime.
Growing up in a bustling household, Laurie first learned what “quiet” was when she lived by herself on Seahorse Key, an island off the Florida shoreline. Later on, Laurie worked on public TV documentaries in San Jose. A lifetime learner, she earned a degree in environmental engineering working under Perry McCarty, Ph.D., and her Ph.D. in microbiology working under Rita Calwell, Ph.D., the first female director of the National Science Foundation (NSF).
While at Stanford University, she isolated a bacterium that she named and also presented on the Disney Channel. As she prepared to work as a post-doctoral researcher, Exxon called on her to support cleaning up contaminants following a huge oil spill.
One of the highlights of her career was working for Jacques Cousteau. While working for him, she worked alongside a team responsible for collecting data to show the governments of France, Italy, and Monaco that additional wastewater treatment was needed to reduce pollution into the Mediterranean Sea.
Today, you can find Laurie, a proud environmental engineer, in Antarctica studying humpback whales or in a local classroom leading mock oil spills. To Laurie, the joy of learning and discovery is one of the best parts of life. Each of her jobs gave her the opportunity to learn and discover.
There have been many naysayers throughout her career, but Laurie never let these external opinions (or her personal fear) stop her from the next opportunity.
The “Her Stories: Adventures in STEM” series is a collection of stories about 20 women in science and engineering fields, written by members of the SWE Pre-College Engagement and Support (PCES) Committee. Dive into the rest of the series here!
Know a pre-college kid interested in STEM? Join SWENext, the Society’s free program that allows students ages 5 through 18 to join the SWE engineering and technology community.
SWENexters enjoy numerous opportunities throughout the year to learn, network, and connect with peers, role models, and industry professionals. Plus, this diverse, welcoming, pre-college STEM community provides a safe place where kids can feel seen, heard, and validated. SWENext is open to all genders.
