United Way Award Scaled United Way Award Scaled United Way Award Scaled

Nitsch Engineering Recognized by United Way for Increasing STEM Education Opportunities

As part of our commitment to building better communities with you, Nitsch Engineering works to strengthen the engineering community by increasing STEM education opportunities for students who are traditionally underrepresented in the industry. We are thrilled that the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley has recognized our efforts by naming us one of the 2019 STEM Corporate Leaders of the Year!

The award recognized Nitsch Engineering for performing outreach and supporting engineering education, particularly our focus on increasing diversity and representation within the field of engineering, where only 12% of engineers are women and only 8% of engineers are people of color. Our support includes:

  • Hosting an annual Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day: In 2002, Nitsch Engineering began participating in the new “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day” campaign from National Engineers Week. Since then, we have hosted the event each year, bringing together 6th-12th grade girls to educate them about various engineering fields and hopefully inspire them to consider engineering as a career! The event has grown from 20 girls our first year to 100 girls (our maximum capacity), and includes a keynote speech from a woman working in engineering, hands-on engineering activities and experiments for the girls, college admissions assistance for the parents and chaperones, and a panel discussion and question/answer forum where the girls can ask 3-5 women working as engineers about their experience. Learn more about past events here >>
  • Supporting the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley’s STEM education efforts: Nitsch Engineering has been donating to the United Way’s STEM education initiative for eight years. In 2017, our CEO Lisa Brothers was the keynote speaker for the second annual STEM Leadership breakfast. In 2018, we expanded our involvement in the BoSTEM program by hosting a group of 12 middle school students who are part of the Latino STEM Alliance through their schools. Working with United Way staff, Nitsch Engineering’s volunteers put together a program to teach the students about water filtration, including a fun hands-on activity to build a water filtration unit. We are currently planning our second BoSTEM student group, tentatively planned for May 2019. Learn more about the BoSTEM initiative here >>
  • Speaking to students in classrooms and Girl Scout Troop meetings: Nitsch Engineering coordinates with teachers in a number of school districts to expose more students to the fields of civil/ transportation/ structural engineering and land surveying. We have attended dozens of in-school career fairs and classroom presentations to help spark the interest of students. We have also spoken to Girl Scout Troops and at STEM events hosted by the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts.
  • Participating in the WTS Boston Transportation YOU event: In 2017, WTS Boston began hosting an event called Transportation YOU that offers girls ages 13-18 an introduction to a wide variety of transportation careers. Nitsch Engineering staffed a booth to introduce girls to land surveying concepts. Learn more about WTS Boston’s outreach efforts, including Transportation YOU, here >>

We’re proud to be honored alongside other companies committed to helping young people access STEM career opportunities: Carbonite, Janey Construction, and Thermo Fisher Scientific.