Tower Magazine - Summer/Fall 2024 - 6

Miranda Dorosz, '22
by interning with the College's IT
department over the summer.
Miranda says while she saw
fewer women in her classes, it's
been relatively equal in the field.
Today, she's a web and software
developer using her skills and
talents to maintain the local
newspaper's website, manage
databases, and even develop new
digital products, both for readers/
subscribers and internal users.
Always an astute student, Miranda
says she was surprised by the
academic awards she's received
over the years, including many at
the College, where her name was
called multiple times during the
2022 awards banquet: highest GPA
and most proficient applications
developer, to name a few.
" Don't be
afraid to try
something new...
I've found most
of my success
that way. "
- Becca Trout
Becca Trout, '19
" I just thought I was doing the
baseline, " she explains, humbly.
But she's learned to embrace
those accolades, and encourages
others to do the same.
" Take yourself seriously and do not
downplay your accomplishments, "
she says of the advice she'd
give other women entering the
trades. " It can be challenging
to be the only woman on the
team. If you find yourself in
that situation, stick with it. "
BECCA TROUT '19
Mobile Robotics Project
Engineer, RG-Group.com
" I was always tinkering with things
as a kid, " says Becca Trout. " Always
building or designing something. "
Today, she's working on projects-
and with technology-that she might
never have imagined back then.
Becca was drawn to manufacturing
and, living locally, she was familiar
with Thaddeus Stevens College of
Technology. During high school,
many people steered her toward
the four-year route, but the cost
seemed impractical. One of her
teachers, however, provided the
validation and encouragement she
needed to follow her passion.
5 : Tower Magazine
" My metal shop teacher, Mr. Bruns,
said I should give Thaddeus
Stevens College another look, "
she recalls. " And it's worked
really well in my favor. "
Two years after completing her
associate degree in Mechanical
Engineering Technology, Becca went
on to earn a bachelor's degree in the
same subject from Fairmont State
University in West Virginia. While that
additional credential might have also
helped her move up the pay scale,
she knows her hands-on experiences
at Thaddeus Stevens College already
set her apart from other candidates.
She began her career working
with drones as a multidisciplinary
engineer at SURVICE Engineering;
two and a half years later, she joined
RG-Group.com in a new industrial
automation division dedicated to
improving warehouse logistics with
autonomous mobile robots. There,
she programs missions and creates
maps for the robots. She also quotes
projects and travels frequently to
customer sites for installations.
While she's often the only woman
on the engineering side of a project
team at work, she doesn't feel
she's treated differently on the job
or in her paycheck. When she got
her first job offer from SURVICE
Engineering, she was impressed. " It
exceeded my expectations, " she says.
While she never consciously
considered pay equity, she says that
women in the workplace should
never be afraid to speak up.
" Always make sure your voice
is heard, " says Becca. " And
don't be afraid to try something
new just because you're afraid
you'll look silly. I've found most
of my success that way. "
With their education, work ethic,
and individual abilities, these
are just three of the many young
alumnae who are helping narrow
the gender pay gap, both among
Thaddeus Stevens College graduates
and in the workforce at large.
http://www.RG-Group.com http://www.RG-Group.com
Tower Magazine - Summer/Fall 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Tower Magazine - Summer/Fall 2024
