Bauer, 27, graduated from Rowan University with a bachelor’s degree in civil and environmental engineering in May 2013.
In August 2018, a little more than five years later, she will be returning to her department in the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering as an assistant professor – the first full-time, tenure-track professor to earn a degree there.
Bauer’s parents, James and Carol, encouraged the Woolwich Township native to explore the program that introduces middle school girls to engineering fundamentals. They had learned about it – and Rowan Engineering – through their son, Joshua, who was a student in mechanical engineering at Rowan. (Bauer’s sister, Dr. Rachel Bauer, earned a dual degree from Rowan in theater performance and English. She is teaching in the STEAM Academy program this summer at Rowan and is an adjunct professor in the theater department during the academic year.)
“My parents said, ‘Wouldn’t this be a great program for you to learn more about engineering,’” she recalled. “I had a great experience attending the AWE program at Rowan. What I took away the most was what engineering is and how I could see myself fitting into a career in engineering, like I saw my brother doing.”
In addition to the inspiration from AWE, which is supported by PSEG, and her brother, Bauer also got a “push” into the field from her own achievements – she excelled in science and math in high school and thought engineering would offer her good opportunities.
As an AWE participant, she met a lot of the faculty she would one day have as professors, including Dr. Kauser Jahan, head of the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and the founder of AWE, now in its 20th year.
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