工科学生重新定义 选美皇后刻板印象
莫娜莉·贝克，26岁 dreamed of being two things when she was growing up: a pageant queen and a mechanical engineer.
2022年美国青少年甜心, 她已经实现了其中一个目标, and attending Kettering is helping her work toward the other.
Baker’s plan to become an engineer started to take shape in sixth grade when she began participating in Boosting Engineering Science and Technology (BEST) 机器人. In the ninth grade at Smithson Valley High School in Spring Branch, 德州, 贝克继续参加第一个 机器人的比赛.
“在第一, I learned a lot about Kettering; I learned about the 合作社 program, and I learned about all of the different things that they did,”她说。. “我觉得这是个很酷的地方. 我挺喜欢的.”
As a freshman at Kettering, Baker has wasted no time embracing college life. 她加入了第一校友会, 舞蹈俱乐部, 女工程师学会, 和Alpha Gamma Delta姐妹会.
“I have made some of the most amazing friends, and I’ve met some incredible people who have done amazing things,贝克说.
Her favorite classes include Engineering Graphical Communication and Calculus because she loves math and computer-aided design (CAD). According to Baker, the coolest project so far has been in Engineering Graphical Communication. The class disassembled and CAD-designed a Nerf gun, reassembled the CAD drawings in the NX software, 并就此写了一篇报告.
“我喜欢数学和计算机辅助设计, so getting to expand my knowledge in these subjects has been so much fun for me,贝克说.
For her 合作社, she is a Quality Engineer at Orchid Orthopedic Solutions, a medical device company. Baker works with suppliers and customers to ensure the quality of the products.
“我喜欢我的合作公寓的一切. I get to problem-solve and meet new people every day,”她说。. “I am able to learn and grow within my position, and my team is extremely welcoming and encouraging.”
今年, she’ll also wrap up her responsibilities as America’s Teen Sweetheart with photo shoots for sponsors Swim by KC and STS Nation and volunteering with various organizations, 包括慈善:水, which provides clean water to people around the world, 天使树和监狱团契, which works the children and families of prisoners to help meet their physical, 情感和精神需求. She’ll also continue spreading her message of positive living—living for yourself and not society, 家人或朋友.
“As long as it’s positive and it’s going to uplift you, go for it,贝克说. “You can reach those crazy dreams—even 虽然 no one thinks you can— if you put the work behind it. 所以要成为年轻女孩的榜样, 对于其他青少年, to show them that they can achieve their dreams, 他们可以做到, 那是最美好的感觉之一. I’ve already had a few people come up and say they’re going to compete in pageants because they saw me do it and I looked like them, 他们从来没有在电视上看到过像他们这样的人. So knowing that I’m making that change and helping people realize their dreams and go for it is one of the most rewarding feelings.”
Baker is the second America’s Teen Sweetheart, 一个关注身体积极性的比赛, 慈善机构, 服务与领导.
“这是关于整个女孩的. 当你说华丽的时候, 你认为是选美比赛, 这是基于外表的, 整个耻辱正在改变,贝克说. “You can have brains and beauty and do pageantry.”
She said winning was exciting and scary because it’s such a large platform.
“这是一个很棒的组织. Just the feeling of knowing I was able to win this pageant being a bigger girl and being a girl in STEM, 这些是你认为不可能混合的东西. People are always asking, ‘Why are you in pageants if you’re an engineering student?’等等，”贝克说.
For her future in pageantry, she’s unsure if she’ll move on to America’s Miss Sweetheart pageant. 她有一些时间来决定, 虽然, because she won’t be eligible to compete in that pageant until 2024.
为了她的工程前途, Baker hopes to add a business major and start a company that designs, 开发和制造玩具, tools and technologies for people with special needs with a focus on classroom development.
“I believe people with disabilities have these beautiful minds and wonderful ideas, but we’re not really giving them the opportunity to showcase it,”她说。.
Baker is proud of her achievements and excited for her future. 她希望她的故事也能激励其他人.
“我喜欢证明别人是错的,”她说。, “because it shows other people that they’re also able to achieve their dreams no matter what anyone says.”
