Each year March is dedicated to Women’s History Month. LMU Seaver College is celebrating this month by featuring some of the amazing women in our college, who are extremely successful in their fields. Cheers to celebrating Seaver’s own wonder women! Here we feature a Q and A with Mahsa Ebrahim, assistant professor of mechanical engineering.
Q: Please share with us why you wanted to pursue your Ph.D. and work in higher education?
A. I worked in the industry for three years while I was getting my M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering. I realized that I liked the challenge of research and the fact that there will always be new things to learn in research, which was different from my routine industry job. So I decided to pursue a PhD to be able to do more hard core independent research and open future opportunities for great R&D jobs. I also had a lot of teaching/tutoring/mentoring experience and I like teaching as well. So, being a professor was my dream job because I get to do research and teach.
Q: When you advise students, what words of wisdom do you find yourself sharing consistently with different students over the years?
A: Study because learning is important. Also, be a good engineer not just to get a good grade, it makes a huge difference.
Q: As a woman in STEM, is there a woman that you’ve looked up to or who has influenced the work you do? Who is that person? And how did they influence you?
A: Yes, there is. Dr. Amy Fleischer who is currently the Dean of college of engineering at Cal Poly University at Saint Luis Obispo. She was one of my professors while I was pursuing my PhD. She always motivated me and I was inspired by the fact that she was a very successful professor, a great mom, and always wanted to learn more.
Screenwriting major Abigail Braccia and entrepreneurship major Sara Appelqvist contributed to the Women’s History Month series. This article was written by communications major Jordan Lindsey.
