At a young age, Deidra Hodges was well-positioned to become an engineer. Her parents were educators and her older brothers worked with technology, constantly fixing things around the house. Wanting to be like her siblings, Hodges signed up for her high school’s electronics class.
But the teacher said she couldn’t take it.
“He told me to go take choir instead,” Hodges says.
After her mom visited the principal’s office, Hodges was allowed into the class as the only girl — and prospered. The teacher became her mentor and soon enough, she was entering national electronics competitions.
Today, Professor Hodges is chair of the electrical and computer engineering department at FIU’s College of Engineering and Computing (CEC). She is one of many women from CEC who are leading the way in engineering.
Read more at FIU News