Insights on diversity and inclusion from reflective experiences of distinct pathways to and through engineering education

The topic of diversity and inclusion has been a longstanding topic of exploration within the engineering education community. There are several well-known issues such as 1) the percentage of female students remains low and unchanged for decades despite the desire to influence a change, 2) the typical demographics of engineering students, and by effect future engineering professionals, also do not reflect the demographics of society, thereby leaving out critical perspectives necessary to advance multi textured solutions to diverse needs and challenges, 3) the culture and climate of engineering can be chilly towards non-dominant groups, and 4) the curriculum itself can be enhanced to embrace inclusive pedagogies, and emphasize engineering as a profession that provides value to society. These are just a few of the many topics associated with engineering education, and diversity and inclusion. In our work, we document four distinct individual's pathways that led to the pursuit of engineering, and reflect on how each story provides insights into how experiences and context impact decisions to persist. The stories and corresponding reflections illustrate a “systems view” of engineering education, and embody diversity from the perspective of gender, international identity, career stage, underrepresented minority status, and first-generation. We will present salient features from each pathway that connect to potential recommendations for advancing recruitment and retention efforts in engineering. We will also highlight themes across each pathway in the context of frameworks that represent the college experience, and conceptualizing value within a system.