Emily Moseley discovered her interest in engineering during her sophomore year, when she took a technology, engineering, and design class. “I’d always been good at math and science, but I never really had an end goal,” says Emily. “This class really opened my eyes to the field of engineering.”
Emily has pursued her interest through her school “iProject.” The “I” in iProject stands for “inquiry, innovation, and impact,” all of which Emily demonstrates through her work. She inquires about new programs; learns to use new technology, such as 3D printers; innovates; and makes an impact by using her engineering skills to help others.
Emily loves being able to fix things and make things for people. She finds it most rewarding when she gets to see people’s reactions to what she has made. “I love tinkering around, but I always have to show someone!” she says.
Last year, Emily, along with a group of fellow students, worked with a nonprofit called e-Nable, which helps provide prosthetic hands to those who need them, to create a fully functioning prosthetic hand for a college student named Alex. This year, Emily has continued to work on improving her designs for prosthetic hands.
“There’s no reason that a girl should love math or science any less than someone else,” Emily said. “If you love it, do it.”
T.J. Edwards, Emily’s Technology, Engineering, and Design teacher, saw Emily’s passion from her first year in his class. He is constantly impressed by Emily’s strength in science, technology, engineering and math concepts, as well as her artistic ability and collaboration skills.
“I think engineers are sometimes stereotyped as ‘math people’ or ‘builders.’ but the really good ones are able to do that and have a creative side that really spurs innovative ideas. Emily definitely has that potential. She can dream up beautiful sketches and ideas that require a new approach to engineering,” Edwards said.
Emily says that Edwards has had a great impact on her life. “He saw my passion and kept feeding my process,” she said. “He has taught me so much about engineering and got me into amazing projects like my current prosthetic hand project.”
Edwards has watched Emily grow since her first year in the class 2 1/2 years ago. “It has been extraordinarily exciting to see the seeds of Emily’s initial curiosity grow into what will undoubtedly be a successful college and work career,” says Edwards.
Outside of the classroom, Emily had a summer internship at SpaceWorks, an engineering enterprise focused on space exploration technology. She also attended the Governor’s Honor’s Program last summer for engineering.
Besides engineering, Emily plays volleyball for her school and is a stage manager for the drama department.
What’s next?
Emily has committed to attend Georgia Tech in the fall and plans to major in aerospace engineering. She hopes this knowledge will serve as a doorway for working with automobiles. Her dream job is to engineer race cars for NASCAR.
This article was reported and written by Dori Balser, a student at Riverwood International Charter School.