Inspiring Graduate: Julia Baxter (’23)
- Hometown: Chippewa Falls
- Degree: B.S. Engineering Technology
- Concentration: Production Operations
Julia Baxter was studying premedicine, when she decided three years into her college journey to change her degree and transfer to UW-Stout.
“I discovered I had a great passion for engineering. At Stout, I get to combine my passions of medicine and engineering, enabling me to improve others’ quality of life,” she said.
Although transferring to UW-Stout added a few years to her schooling, Baxter earned her B.S. in engineering technology on Dec. 16, along with 526 graduates.
“It took Julia a long time to complete her bachelor's degree due to transferring, but she was tenacious and graduated with a great academic record,” said Program Director Abhi Ghosh.
She was hired full time before graduation as a manufacturing engineer with Phillips Medisize, a medical device manufacturer.
She plans to one day pursue her master's in supply chain and operations at UW-Stout.
How has your UW-Stout education changed you?
My Stout education and experience have allowed me to be more confident working in the field of engineering. They allowed me to become more innovative and creative. I developed lifelong skills that I can use in and out of the industry.
It has also shown me that once you set your mind to something, you can accomplish anything; and it’s never too late to receive an education.
How well has UW-Stout prepared you to work in your field and why?
Stout has done a great job preparing me for the field of engineering. What helped me the most were the internship and co-op opportunities.
My two-year internship as a project engineer at Phillips Medisize allowed me to grow as an engineer and gain valuable knowledge in the industry.
Having my internship experience allowed me to take what I learned in class and apply it in industry, as well as apply the knowledge I learned in industry and take it back to the classroom.
My experience at Stout led me to be able to have a job lined up months before I graduated.
Engineering technology is a very hands-on major, and I learned many valuable skills, like welding, casting, machining, wiring and computer-aided manufacturing that I can use in and outside of the workplace. Using a lot of these tools was very intimidating at first, as I had no previous experience with them.
I am thankful for all of my professors for helping me overcome the intimidation and helping me become more comfortable and confident using them.
What challenges did you face in earning your degree and how did you overcome them?
One challenge I faced was being a transfer student. There were many medical classes that did not transfer into my engineering degree, which put me a couple of years behind. My adviser was helpful in transferring what he could to use toward my Stout degree.
Another challenge I faced was being a woman in engineering. On average, there were one to three women in each of my classes. This major was a lot more male-dominated than I had expected. This made it difficult at first to find friends who shared similar interests and made me feel out of place in class.
To overcome this, I made friends with the other girls in my classes and used Bumble BFF to find more friends. After a while, I was used to being one of the only girls and it became my normal.
Being a woman in engineering is not easy, but I hope my experience encourages more women to join the field.
What are you most proud of as you finish your degree?
Five years ago, if you would have told me that I would be graduating from UW-Stout with an engineering degree, I wouldn’t have believed it. It is OK if you don’t know what you want to major in right away or if you change your mind a couple of years in.
It is important to follow your passions even if it means you must take a non-traditional route.
I am proud that I believed in myself and stuck through it. There were times when I wanted to give up but, in the end, it was so worth it.
