IEEE Women in Engineering - December 2019 - 15

Rojas (front row, third from left) joins participants to inaugurate the Women in Mining USA Arizona chapter, of which she
is president.

don't think you have the same skills as
other people," she advises. "Be resil-
ient, don't give up, and give yourself the
chance to feel like part of the majority."
By the time she graduated, there
were 14 women in the department.
Her first job was as the only female
pit supervisor on a crew of 300 men at
BHP's Escondida mine in Chile, where
she was also significantly younger than
the people she was supervising. "I al-
ways felt part of the whole," she says. "I

Rojas and her husband, Jose Quispe,
display her SME Outstanding Young
Professional Award.

never felt like I was different, but I had
to work very hard to break that impres-
sion that I was not as capable as my
male counterparts because they look at
you as young and female. You earn their
respect bit by bit."

Building a Career in Arizona
Rojas spent several years working for
BHP in South America and mentoring
the SME student chapters. After earn-
ing her M.S. degree in mining engi-
neering at the University of Arizona,
specializing in remote mine operation,
she spent nearly five years as a mine
engineer for Freeport-McMoRan. She
was active in the SME during that peri-
od, holding positions including vice
chair of the Young Leaders Committee
and chair of the Young Leaders Profes-
sional Development Subcommittee.
W hen the University of Arizona
recruited her for an assistant profes-
sor of practice, Rojas decided that the
position would be a good fit. In 2017,
she joined the university as the pro-
gram manager and lead professor for
the MGE's Mining 360 executive pro-
gram, a nine-unit certificate course
designed to help employees of Caterpil-
lar and its partner companies further
their mining education. "Having her

DECEMBER 2019

come in and be focused and run this
program is really what we needed,"
explains John Kemeny, MGE depart-
ment head. "I think she has a lot of
drive, she works very hard, and she
communicates very well. She has this
vision of doing more in our depart-
ment. We're really proud of her."
In 2018, Rojas and MGE doctoral stu-
dent Fatemah Molaei began researching
the effectiveness of diversity policies
in the U.S. mining industry. In 2019,
Rojas relaunched the Arizona chapter
of Women in Mining USA, an organi-
zation that works to attract, retain,
and advance women in the field and
educate the public about the industry.
"As companies increase diversity and
inclusion in our industry, everyone
prospers," Rojas says. "I like the Uni-
versity of Arizona very much because
I feel like I'm making a greater impact
on the community than I was as an
engineer in the mine. I can commu-
nicate with students and industry, and
I have a bigger platform to contribute
to research."
As for her dad, who didn't want Rojas
to study mining at all? "Now, he's just so
proud," she adds.
-Emily Dieckman

IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

IEEE Women in Engineering - December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Women in Engineering - December 2019