Inspire! Resources: MOTIVATE!
Motivate! Motivational Messages From Accomplished Women Engineers is part of the Inspire! Educational Video Collection, based on Dr. Laura Ettinger’s game-changing work for the National Science Foundation that captures the essence of trailblazing American women in engineering, and aims to inspire middle school and early high school students to pursue the STEM fields.
At 3 minutes and 39 seconds running time, it is a short and poignant tool that will inspire young women, give them advice about their future careers and provide the opportunity for important discussions on topics such as speaking up and making your voice heard.
Discussion prompts are included here for teachers, guidance counselors, Scout leaders, parents and others to use with middle school and early high school students to accompany this video.
Watching the Video
Motivate! Motivational Messages from Accomplished Women Engineers
Accomplished women engineers inspire young women and give them advice about their future careers and lives. (3:39 minutes)
Produced by Dr. Laura Ettinger, a history professor at Clarkson University, and directed by Zac Miller, founder of Uncommon Image Studios.
Watch the video now by pressing the "Play" button on the video.
Prior to Viewing Discussion Questions
Q: Has anyone ever given you advice? Did you listen to it? Why?
Q: Who would you go to for career advice? Why would you select that person?
Post Viewing Discussion Questions
Q: Which message or piece of advice was the most meaningful to you? Why?
Q: Career choices are hard to make. What should you consider as you think about career possibilities?
Q: Why is having your voice heard important?
Q: Why is asking questions important?
Self-Reflection and Moving Forward
Q: What advice would you give yourself if you are interested in engineering as a career?
Q: What can you do if you find out that the career path or college major you are thinking about seems hard, boring, disappointing or not what you thought? Why?
Q: Even though it can be hard to talk about your strengths or feel like you’re bragging about yourself, it’s important to own your strengths so that you can make good choices that really reflect who you are and what you care about. What are your strengths? What is one strength you have that might make you a successful engineer?
Additional Videos
Educate!
Educate! What is an Engineer? Perspectives of Trailblazing Women Engineers
Trailblazing women engineers explain what engineering is and debunk myths about the field. (3:55 minutes)
View Resources for Educate! Video
Encourage!
Encourage! Leading Women Engineers Encourage the Next Generation
Leading women engineers encourage girls to do what they love, defy stereotypes, push through setbacks, and pursue engineering. (4:40 minutes)
About the INSPIRE! Educational Video Collection
Inspire! is a collection of three educational videos with accompanying discussion prompts that will empower middle school and early high school girls with the tools to overcome obstacles facing girls and women in STEM fields, such as a lack of confidence and discouragement from others. One of the videos, Educate! What is an Engineer? Perspectives of Trailblazing Women Engineers, would be appropriate for use with young people regardless of their gender identification.
Each video features inspiring, real stories told by accomplished women engineers that contextualize and examine hurdles that girls and young women may face in the engineering field and offer strategies to overcome those hurdles. As we hear these stories, we see trailblazing women engineers serving as mentors and role models for the next generation of girls, who embrace the excitement of an engineering education within the context of a STEAM summer camp at Clarkson University, a nationally recognized technological university with locations in Potsdam, Schenectady and Beacon, New York.
The videos can be used together or individually.