audio by artist sharon cascadden

Sharon Cascadden, a Fellow of the Society of Women Engineers, talks about her decision to study chemistry and engineering at UCLA despite a high school aptitude test which steered her toward traditional occupations for women. She also explains how raising her family interrupted her pursuit of a bachelor's degree, which she began as a chemistry major in 1956 at UCLA but did not complete until 1980 as an engineering major at California State University in Northridge.

This oral history interview was recorded October 13, 2009 at the Society of Women Engineers WE09 Annual Conference in Long Beach, California, as part of the SWE Grassroots Oral History Project. The interviewer is Troy Eller. This excerpt was selected and produced by the SWE Archivist. The excerpt may have been edited for length, however the intent of the interviewee's words remain the same. Audio excerpts may be used for research and educational purposes only.

Sharon Cascadden discusses a reentry program run by SWE member Dr. Bonita Campbell at California State University in Northridge in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The program was intended to quickly prepare women engineers who had not worked in the field for a long time to reenter the engineering workforce. In addition to updating their technical skills, the program also featured workshops such as one on assertiveness training, in which Cascadden recalls “One of the things we needed to learn to say was, ‘No, I don’t make the coffee,’ because that was sort of what was expected of any woman in the room at the time.” Cascadden is a retired materials engineer and a Fellow of the Society of Women Engineers.

This oral history interview was recorded October 13, 2009 at the Society of Women Engineers WE09 Annual Conference in Long Beach, California, as part of the SWE Grassroots Oral History Project. The interviewer is Troy Eller. This excerpt was selected and produced by the SWE Archivist. The excerpt may have been edited for length, however the intent of the interviewee's words remain the same. Audio excerpts may be used for research and educational purposes only.

Sharon Cascadden recalls her experiences as a reentering female engineering student at California State University in Northridge in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She explains how skills she developed while doing volunteer work as a stay-at-home mother transferred to the classroom and her career. She also recalls that the only female engineering faculty member at the time, Dr. Bonita Campbell, was given an office on a floor that did not have a women’s restroom. Cascadden is a retired materials engineer and a Fellow of the Society of Women Engineers.

This oral history interview was recorded October 13, 2009 at the Society of Women Engineers WE09 Annual Conference in Long Beach, California, as part of the SWE Grassroots Oral History Project. The interviewer is Troy Eller. This excerpt was selected and produced by the SWE Archivist. The excerpt may have been edited for length, however the intent of the interviewee's words remain the same. Audio excerpts may be used for research and educational purposes only.

Sharon Cascadden explains how contacts in the Society of Women Engineers helped her to find both her materials engineering jobs at Hughes Aircraft. She describes some of the materials testing projects she worked on for the missile and space programs. Cascadden is a retired materials engineer and a Fellow of the Society of Women Engineers.

This oral history interview was recorded October 13, 2009 at the Society of Women Engineers WE09 Annual Conference in Long Beach, California, as part of the SWE Grassroots Oral History Project. The interviewer is Troy Eller. This excerpt was selected and produced by the SWE Archivist. The excerpt may have been edited for length, however the intent of the interviewee's words remain the same. Audio excerpts may be used for research and educational purposes only.