The Bridge

For me, Elsie MacGill still reigns supreme and glorious, having set the laws for women like myself in aeronautical engineering, and engineering in general. Through moments like earning her engineering qualifications, designing the Maple Leaf II Trainer, contributing enormously to the aerial war effort, and challenging past society’s view of women engineers like herself, Elsie MacGill is my bridge over the river. Her achievements enable me to not slip into the void, or drown in past limitations. They allow me to do more than dream of a career, but pursue, and even commit, to the profession which I have chosen. Engineering has become a legitimate, realistic option. The societal expectations she successfully challenged were before my time and beyond my control, yet shape me. My identity, who I am and will be, is only possible because of Elsie MacGill’s tremendous contributions to the field of engineering, the history of Canada, and the destinies of women like me.