Female Engineers Share their Successes
Two women from our area are standing out in a field where few women do. Instructor Jeannine Uehling teaches fluid power at Hennepin Technical College in Brooklyn Park and Carla Stueve from Maple Grove is the first female Hennepin County Highway Engineer.
Jeannine Uehling at Hennepin Tech
Instructor Jeannine Uehling teaches fluid power at Hennepin Technical College in Brooklyn Park. Many fields, from medical devices to construction to aerospace, use fluid power.
“People understand it a little bit better if I saw hydraulic and pneumatic engineering,” explains Uehling. “I was always curious about how stuff works, why it does what it does and how does do what it does.”
When we visited Jeannine’s class, she was the only woman in the room. But that’s normal for Uehling.
“I’ve always been the only female in the labs,” remembers Uehling. “People would say, what’s with the chick here?”
Uehling calls her career as an engineer the best struggle she’s ever had. Now she finds teaching her favorite subject very rewarding. She says companies are clamoring for her students when they graduate.
“To be able to share this with everyone is the best thing in the world,” says Uehling. “Just to be able to say if she can do it, I can too.”
Carla Stueve at Hennepin County
This spring Carla Stueve from Maple Grove became the first female Hennepin County Highway Engineer. She will oversee many elements of the county’s road and bridge projects, from design to construction.
“How can we make the roadways better and make the environment better? That’s what interested me in civil engineering itself,” says Stueve. “We work with the public and stakeholders to really identify what the needs are for the roadway and what the roadway should look like.
Stueve has more than 20 years of experience in transportation planning and says anyone interested in this field should get internships early and then, blaze their own trail.
“Being named as first female engineer is an honor,” says Stueve. “I have the utmost respect for all county engineers who came before me. I am committed to upholding the high standard they set.”
The Hennepin County Board appointed Stueve for a one-year term. The board could re-appoint Stueve for a four year term next May.
