November 4, 2004

Pop quiz: Jeanny Yoon

Graduate student, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

Originally from South Korea. Participated in Women’s Leadership Summit at the White House.

photo by Stephen Anzaldi

How did you get invited to Washington for the women’s leadership summit?

I’m a member of the Women’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor, which co-sponsors the summit. The director of the bureau is Shinae Chun, the highest ranking Korean- American in the Bush administration. She graduated from Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy.

What do you do at the bureau?

As a leader of the Girls e-Mentoring in Science, Engineering and Technology project (GEM-SET), I’ve worked as a volunteer mentor to junior high school and high school girls. The project matches professional women with female students via e-mail and a Web site. We help teach girls the value of education and preparation for careers in science, technology and engineering.

As a summit participant and visitor to the White House, what did you learn?

The event gave me the chance to be on the other side of the mentor-mentee relationship. Many of the participants were older than me and had not only high profile jobs but also families at home. I would like to have a family some day and I learned a lot from these successful women who’ve managed to get better jobs, better earnings and better professional lives while also being wives and mothers.

Did you work before starting graduate school at Northwestern?

I was a project engineer at McDonough Associates Inc. in Chicago. I worked on several road widening projects with the Illinois Department of Transportation and the DuPage County Highway Department.

What specific work did you do on those projects?

My work involved traffic data collection, noise and air quality analyses, wetlands delineation, drainage studies and surveying.

Do you have talents outside the science fields?

I play the flute, cello and piano. And I sing. I was a member of the University of Illinois chorus as a first soprano. I’d like to take voice lessons while I’m at Northwestern.

Do you have plans for the future yet?

I might try to get a job, or go on for a Ph.D. We’ll see.

— Stephen Anzaldi