My track to Northwestern, my dream school, wasn’t always easy. I got accepted off the waitlist into the McCormick School of Engineering and did my best to shake off the nerves that came with feeling like a second choice.
Once on campus, my first engineering classes hit me like a ton of bricks. I had always been good at school, but receiving the lowest grades I’d ever seen made it harder to ignore that voice in my head: “Am I supposed to be here?”
My sophomore year I joined Northwestern Formula Racing, a group that designs, builds and races a single-seat racecar against other collegiate teams. Working on the car was a technical challenge — and nothing like the lectures I was struggling with. It required skills I didn’t have — machining, wiring, programming and more. But it was the perfect opportunity to figure out if I actually wanted to be an engineer.
Before Formula, I wasn’t a “car person” — I still had my learner’s permit at age 19. So I was assigned a job that didn’t require any specialized knowledge: welding. At first, it felt frustrating, intimidating and foreign. But with practice, I improved. As my welds got more even and my hands steadier, my confidence came back.
The process of building something was so fulfilling. It felt like magic when a racecar emerged from the mess of suspension, drivetrain and bodywork components that made no sense to me one year earlier. I was so proud of our team and truly felt I belonged. I stepped into leadership the next year, managing the team’s growth and improvement. This set me on a career path in the automotive industry. In my first job, with manufacturer ITW, I designed vehicle refueling components. I loved seeing my projects out in the world (and will still point out the fuel door on a C6 Corvette).
But something was missing. The dismal lack of diversity in engineering was a problem too big to ignore, especially in Chicago, where so many young people represent backgrounds historically excluded from STEM. I spent hours commiserating with my roommate, Tiernan Murrell ’16, wondering how we could make this industry more accessible and inclusive. We were inspired to start building again.
In 2017 we launched our nonprofit, SparkShop, to introduce students to the parts of engineering that we loved. Equipped with trunks full of prototyping machinery, we traveled to elementary schools across Chicago, inviting fourth and fifth graders to spark their confidence and curiosity about STEM by engaging in hands-on learning workshops that encourage problem-solving, creativity and teamwork. Since then, SparkShop has grown to support over 40 Chicago elementary schools, putting STEM futures within reach for thousands of kids.
The Formula team showed me my capacity for growth, instilled in me a love of building and gave me the confidence to tackle big, complex problems. While I no longer build racecars, I carry those lessons with me. And my time in the industry inspired me to open the doors wide for future engineers.
I’m motivated by the belief that the next generation of engineers will look different from the last, representing diversity across gender, race and socioeconomic status. As they enter the field, bringing in new brilliance and perspectives, I look forward to seeing them discover all the places they belong.
Shonali Ditz ’13 is executive director and co-founder of SparkShop, a nonprofit that delivers free engineering curricula and materials to teachers serving Chicago students who are underrepresented in STEM.
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