Oviedo High sophomore only student to be named 2020 Engineer Girl Ambassador in Florida

Ishika Nag to share her talents with local Boys and Girls Club

News 6 | by Julie Broughton | November 10, 2020

OVIEDO, Fla. – An Oviedo High School sophomore is one of 23 students nationwide to be named an Engineer Girl Ambassador for 2020. Ishika Nag is the only student in Florida to receive this honor.

“I felt very honored and excited to get this recognition and to work in my community to help others,” Nag said. “The role of Engineer Girl Ambassador is to design and implement a project in her local community to encourage younger girls to think about engineering and engineering careers that are out there for them.”

Nag is designing an engineering club for the Boys and Girls Club of Central Florida. She says she plans to recruit eight to 12 girls.

“Essentially, just give them access to material they might not have had the opportunity to access before and just to open their eyes to the world of STEM and show them the different engineering careers that are out there for them,” she said.

Nag says learning that only 13% of women are engineers inspires her to expose young girls to science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers.

“I would say you don’t actually learn to love something until you’ve actually tried it out. Just hearing about it isn’t enough to make someone passionate about engineering. But having the opportunity to do it yourself can be the thing that really gets you into it,” she said.

The Engineer Ambassador Program is sponsored by the National Academy of Engineers along with the Society of Women Engineers. If you or someone you know would like to apply to be an Engineer Girl Ambassador for the 2021-2022 school year, apply here.