Shotwell’s mom forced her to attend a lecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology on a Saturday afternoon. As Shotwell listened to one of the panels, she grew enamored with a fifty-year-old mechanical engineer. “She had these beautiful clothes, this suit and shoes that I loved,” Shotwell said. “She was tall and carried off the heels really well.” Shotwell chatted with the engineer after the talk, learning about her job. “That was the day I decided to become a mechanical engineer,” she said.
