Catching up with the first Open Rivers scholarship recipient

I had the chance to catch up with Jill Rodgers, one of the first recipients of the Open Rivers scholarship, during a video call. Jill is pursuing her Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering at Bucknell University. She is a B-WISE Scholar, receiving the scholarship for Bucknell Women in Science and Engineering. She is the co-president of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and is a Garman guide, a Bucknell program that provides mentors for  incoming engineering students.

OR: It is good to see you again!  I can’t believe it has already been 3 years. It looks like you are safe at home.  How are you doing now?  What were you up to when the virus spread?

JR: I was studying abroad in France and discovered my love of travel.  They brought us home mid-semester, but I appreciated the chance to visit some places.

OR: What has changed in your perspective now that you are well into your degree?

JR: Now that I’ve had the chance to dig into some advanced courses, I’ve found many things I didn’t realize I would like.  I’ve enjoyed exploring things like materials class, and investigating how things break and how different materials are tailored to different needs.

I went in thinking robotics would be my main focus, but found so many other areas that were interesting. I will still pursue robotics, but there is a lot more that I plan to learn.

OR: What are you looking forward to and enjoying about your work right now?

JR: I’m looking forward to Senior year and doing a senior design project – we partner with a company or research project and work on that for a year. Also, more options for electives geared toward engineering open up including computer integrated manufacturing, tissue biomechanics and aerodynamics. We can choose any of those paths to learn more about specific topics we are interested in. 

OR: That’s really exciting – I love that they offer such an applied course.  That really helps find what you enjoy and let’s you test it live. Who inspired you to take this path?

JR:  My sister played a big role in what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to work with my hands, but I hadn’t decided on what path to pursue. My sister is a mechanical engineer and went through Bucknell. She’s five years older and I was able to see her senior design project when I was in high school, so I could actually see what she was working on. After that experience, I was pretty confident in the path I wanted to take.

OR: Older siblings play a huge role, maybe more than they realize.  How did your sister find her path?  Were there other influences on you?

JR:  Both of my parents are accountants, so they are both into math. My aunt was an architect, and growing up, my aunt and dad worked on our house.  Probably 1/3 of the house was built by my father.  I had the chance to grow up around that and watch and hear how they went about building the home.  

OR: As you look forward, you have a lot of interesting paths you can take with a mechanical engineering degree.  What are some of the options out there for robotics?

JR:  For example, Boston Dynamics is a Boston robotics company that does projects in several different areas.  Starting to specialize in robotics, there is the computer side, the manufacturing side where you are actually building the products and then the marketing side.  I am most interested in building, but the computer side is also very intriguing.

OR: Last year, I saw a robotics demonstration at the University of Minnesota about a robot that could feel things and respond to humans in a natural way. It was fascinating, however, I was wondering about the broad applications of such a robot and now can see the broad applicability.  For example, it really has relevance at this time of isolation and Covid, for a range of people from those alone in ICUs to individuals homebound.  The ability to help people who are alone or facing other challenges, could make such a difference to their overall health and well-being.

JR: Yes! I saw robots that can go into areas that are not safe for first responders.  These robots can find people and complete dangerous tasks without risking lives. That motivated me to work in this space.

OR: On one hand, people are afraid of robots, and how advances in robotics will lead to fewer manufacturing jobs or roles that could be filled by robots. However, we sometimes forget all the other areas where there is tremendous benefit.

JR:   It is valuable to keep moving forward.

OR: There is obviously a lot of change around us.  I’m always interested to know how your generation is viewing the environment.  What is your view on how people prioritize and view the environment?

JR:  People are more aware of the environment and the pandemic is forcing the discussion.  I think people are noticing the changes to the environment during the pandemic.  They are asking if there are things we can do differently, and how we can substitute or change what we do with the environmental impact in mind.

OR: How did you learn about our impact on the environment?

JR: My sister is focused on the environment.  She is currently working on renewable energy  projects.  We are stepping in the right direction, but obviously still need to do more.  There’s more talk about it than there was, since 2017, college students especially, where we see the changes.  Hopefully, people can make these small changes that have big impacts.

OR: Small changes matter a lot. With a shift in mindset, we can make systemic changes. That is important and it’s what I’ve tried to promote with my work.

JR: I’m a big proponent of that - if people change their mindset one step at a time, then bigger changes can come.  It may not start with a huge change, but it gets people thinking about what else they can do. Action can build on action.

OR: I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to travel, to know people who work in diverse fields and see how communities work through issues.  The solutions start with each of us on a personal level, and they happen everywhere.  That’s what traveling and meeting so many people have driven home over the years. I hope to share more of these stories.

JR: Traveling and seeing how different countries help the environment, and how they treat the environment, really helps us learn. When traveling, I saw so many windmills, how cities were cleaner, the increased use of public transportation and less cars, which could be something that helps the environment long term.  It was interesting to see how others approach these issues.  You writing about these experiences would help people see how others are approaching these problems - readers will be able to access the experience even in this time of quarantine.

OR: I am so happy to see how you are doing and I wish you a lot of luck! And I hope you get the chance to get back to France and elsewhere to continue to explore this world.

Open Rivers will continue to share stories of our Open Rivers Scholarship recipients.