Leading by Example

Because she is blazing new trails for women in engineering.

After launching into her career in electrical engineering, Andrea Poosikian,聽ENG 鈥�19, noticed a distinct lack of female representation in her craft. As Poosikian continues to do world-changing sustainable work for BP, she hopes to be a source of light聽for future women in the engineering space. 聽

Andrea Poosikian 鈥�19

Electrical Engineer, Onshore Wind US, BP

鈥淭here have been very few women around me in this field, and it鈥檚 made me much more energized about equity in the workplace. It鈥檚 something that needs to change, and I want to be part of that change.鈥�

Spark of an Idea

Poosikian can remember the moment during her junior year as an Honors engineering student when everything changed.

鈥淚 was taking power system-specific courses in electrical engineering. It might have been the subject or just that I had very good professors, but suddenly the information just clicked in my head." She聽had found the way to connect her technical and personal passions.聽

In response, she began pursuing student research opportunities. An internship at General Motors working in its hybrid propulsion systems research lab confirmed that she could continue doing the work she was passionate about鈥攁nd do it in a way that promoted sustainability.聽聽聽

鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 going to spend eight hours a day for the rest of my life doing work that didn鈥檛 support our society鈥檚 transition away from fossil fuels,鈥� said Poosikian.聽But it wasn鈥檛 just that she found her calling at 51动漫. Her engineering classes gave her a unique skill set that helped her stand out in the job market.聽In addition, her time serving as the president of the 51动漫 chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers allowed her the opportunity to develop her leadership and management skills.聽聽

Climbing the Mountain

Post-graduation, Poosikian served as a performance engineer at BP in their central engineering function within wind, which supports all wind farms in Houston. Her role as assistant performance manager at a wind farm in Pennsylvania, however, was a life-changing experience. She was the only woman on-site and had to commute an hour up and down the side of a mountain every day.

鈥淭hose experiences deepened my technical knowledge and my ability to lead different types of people,鈥澛爏he said. 鈥淚t was a challenge and I made mistakes, but getting out there;聽climbing the wind turbines;聽and doing low, medium and high voltage electrical work took a lot of courage and persistence. I was a different person coming out of it.鈥澛犅�

Currently back in Houston, Poosikian works on the reliability engineering team for BP鈥檚 onshore wind business. This role entails proactive repair, corrective repair and monitoring of the operations of a fleet of more than 1,000 turbines. She is also currently getting her master鈥檚 degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.聽

Positive Energy

Poosikian is also the BP Onshore Wind鈥檚 STEM ambassador聽with a specific focus on inspiring women and minorities to choose and stay in聽the engineering profession. She is developing and rolling out training, and doing additional outreach to increase inclusivity and respect in the industry.聽

鈥淭here have been very few women around me in this field and it鈥檚 made me much more energized about equity in the workplace,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something that needs to change, and I want to be part of that change.鈥澛�

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