pos #7...

a woman making history...

     

                                                                    

  According to its website, Women in History Month, Had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress asked the president to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as Women's History Week.  

  Since 1995, U.S. presidents have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as Women’s History Month. 

  

  In the  past, a doctor, two barbers, and, an airline pilot, all females, who were making their own history, were featured in this space. 

  

  This year, we caught up with a structural engineer for UPS Airlines.  Jacqueline (Jaci) Sherman, 40, is indeed making her own history too.  She is married (Eric) and has two daughters and one son.

  

  Next month, Eric will be featured in a job$ somebody's gotta do.  Husband and wife each have their own career in aviation.  

  

  Jaci, let's begin with your interest in engineering.  What started your pursuit, or, is it something that just happened?

 

  When I was in 7th or 8th Grade, I saw the movie, Apollo 13, and, that was it for me, she smiled.  When I saw that movie, I decided to be an engineer.  I knew that's what I wanted to do with my life. 

  I assume you were a great math student.

  No, I wasn't, she said.  But, I was a good science student.  

  How about your education.  Where did you go to college?

  I got my bachelor's in mechanical engineering at the University of Louisville, she replied. 

  You told me you did an internship while you were in college?

  Yes, she confirmed.  I did a three semester co-op with UPS Airlines in the same department I'm working in now.  U of L requires all engineering students to do a three semester co-op. 

  So. you've never worked for anyone else?  Right out of college to UPS?

  That's right, she agreed.  I was hired the semester I graduated from college in December of 2004

and I started full-time with UPS in January of '05.

  For many years, the engineering field was mainly populated by men.  Has that been the case since you entered the field?  

  Of course, she affirmed.  In my graduating class at U of L, there were only three women including me.  UPS was the same way when I started, but, it's getting better.  In the beginning, I was the only female engineer.  But, in the past eight years, they have made a more concerted effort to hire women engineers and in all other jobs. 

  Did you experience any bias in school or on the job? 

  Yes, she laughed.  I would say that definitely happens.  I am a blond and that probably didn't help.  I always felt they thought I was a kid.  

  What do you do in your role as a structural engineer? 

  I am what is called the 7-47 fleet management structures engineer, she informed me.  I am in a building away from the airport.  We have another group of engineers on the airport property, but, my group is more long term focused and we support the whole airline.  My focus is regulatory compliance.  

  That all sounds complicated. 

  It can be, she concurred.  I work on reliability issues that are constant on a 7-47.  Cost saving projects and ways to reduce costs are my responsibility too.  The biggest thing I do is project management from planning, materials, and, finance. 

  What would a typical problem on a 7-47 be that you have to handle?

  Oh, maybe a pump stops working, Jaci said.  Sometimes that can happen and then that will cause something else to malfunction.  Maybe it has been a problem throughout the whole fleet.  

  Do airport mechanics fix all aircraft problems?

  No, she responded.  UPS mechanics fix issues up to a certain level.  Once the problem is beyond their capability, the job is outsourced.  On top of that, we send all of our planes with major problems to Taiwan.

  Do you travel in your work?

  I used to go to Seattle because that's where the 7-47 was assembled, she offered.  This was before Covid.  I had meetings with Boeing and I could deal with production problems while I was there.  I've also been to Taiwan several times.

  I saw a story in the news that Boeing no longer makes the 7-47.

  That's correct, she stated.  They stopped production last month.  Now, they are trying to sell a variation of the 7-77.  It's called the 7-77X-9.  A lot of airlines are moving away from four engine aircraft because they are so expensive to operate.  The new one is more modern, cheaper to fly, more green.  I think two-engine planes are the future. 

  Do you have any hobbies?  

  I love to cook, she laughed.  I make great smoked ribs.  My daughter and I love a dish I cook that I call, Fetta Pasta.  It's got fettuccine, sausage, tomatoes, basil, it's just good. 

  What about a Bucket List?  Any priorities? 

  I had been wanting to go see Graceland in Memphis and we just did that, she replied.  I would like to do a river cruise in Europe and I want to see snow on top of the Alps.  Also, I am a huge Disney nut.  I'd like to visit all of the Disney Parks in the world, Europe, Japan, and, China.  I've been to the ones in the states.

  Jaci, you are an admirable role model and I hope you continue to be successful.

  Thank you so much. 

  Coming up:  another job$ somebody's gotta do; an oddities, observations, & ?'s; an update on Ukraine from Dr. Bogdan Graboviy, and; favorite memories.,

  And, finally.  The Total Nutcase Award for March (TNA is 100% opinion) goes to Kentucky state lawmaker, Savannah Maddox.  Kentucky House Bill 542 originally included language tweaking two words in a workforce development policy.  However, during a committee meeting, Rep. Maddox swapped in a new version of the proposal that would allow anyone to carry concealed weapons in any building occupied by a post secondary institution.  

  Kentucky currently bans firearms from any school property.  

  This proposal is opposed by every university president and campus police force in the state.  But, it passed out of the House Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection with a vote of 16-3.

 

  HUH?  What's up with that?