- [Melissa] Everybody thinks that because I do this really intricate engineering work, that it's very complicated and it's not like that at all.

It's just a lot of things coming together.

- Hi, my name is Rylee and I'm on a mission to talk to as many engineers as I can about their lives, creating the world around them.

Today I'm talking to an engineer who creates computer controllers for companies and costumes.

I wanna find out how she programs her controllers and how she engineered her future.

Ready?

Let's go.

Hi, Melissa.

- Hi Rylee.

- I heard you use engineering skills to make Halloween costumes.

Tell me about it.

- I do.

It's for a non-profit charity called Magic Wheelchair and I work with a team to build costumes specifically for kids in wheelchairs so that they have something special to trick or treat in.

- That's so cool.

Can you tell me one of your favorite costumes that you've designed?

- Yeah, so we did an X-wing from "Star Wars" so it was really massive and the kid was a huge "Star Wars" fan.

And being the electrical expert in our team, I had to make like the dashboard so there was buttons, light, just something to give a costume a little extra kick.

- So I heard you design one of these things called a PLC, can you tell me what that is?

- [Melissa] So a PLC stands for Programmable Logic Controller.

And what I do at work is I make machines that make things.

And so by programming a PLC, I'm basically giving instructions to a machine on how to assemble something.

- Learning to build PLCs sound like a lot of work.

How did you learn how to do it?

- [Melissa] It's all experience, actually.

It's one of those things that's much simpler than people think they are.

You just have to go out there and get the experience by doing it and learning it.

- Okay, so where do you work now?

- [Melissa] Now I work at a company called E Tech Group.

E Tech Group is a system integrator and what that means is we don't specialize in one specific thing.

A client will come to us and say, "I have this assembly line "and I want to add a new machine to it to do this."

And we as problem solvers try to create a solution for them.

- What's one of the coolest things that you've ever worked on?

Like your favorite thing?

- So I get to work in these sortation facilities and it's really cool because unlike like an individual little machine, I'm working on these conveyor systems that span across an entire building.

So imagine if you order something online, that item is sitting in a warehouse somewhere and when you order it, somebody goes and gets that item and then puts it on a conveyor.

And without anybody touching the box, that box is weighed, it's scanned, and then it goes to a sorter which then pushes it to a truck that goes to your house.

- Oh, wow.

I didn't realize how many processes there are leading up to those kinda wonder why my packages be taking so long sometimes.

So how did you get into putting those things together?

I mean, it had to start somewhere.

- For me, it was playing video games, so that got me really into buying my own parts and building my own computers because I could make it a lot more custom and cooler for me.

And that evolved into putting them into Halloween costumes.

- Video games and stuff, that was like a big part of you becoming an engineer?

- Yeah, absolutely.

I grew up with a brother who played video games with me all the time and he ended up going and becoming a software engineer.

So he just programs things but I was really excited to be able to work with something that I could see and was tangible and in front of me.

And so when I go to work, I get to see my program actually doing something.

- When you were in college, did you have any difficulties being a woman and trying to get your degree?

- Yeah, absolutely.

I was always struggling to get along with a lot of the boys in my classes because more often than not, I was the only girl in engineering class.

And you know a lot of the guys, I think, didn't really trust working with me sometimes.

My very first year in college, I talked to my professor about this because I struggled with finding groups to work on projects with and he told me that I really shouldn't worry about it and I should just keep doing what I'm doing and that no matter what the boys think, I'm doing really well in the class and I have the best grade in the class and that I can just let them work together.

- I see you having the best grade.

Okay, so if you could give three pieces of advice for kids like me who are really into engineering, what would they be and why?

- [Melissa] I would definitely tell 'em to never be afraid to ask questions because you can't know everything when you're always working with new technology.

I would also say don't be afraid to do something just because it's hard, more often than not, it's actually very simple and you really don't understand just how easy something can be until you try it.

And finally, learn how to learn because we're always adapting, we're always in new environments and technology is always changing.

- Thank you so much for talking with me and showing me how you engineer your future.

Bye Melissa.

- Bye, Rylee.

(bright upbeat music) - Mission accomplished.

(bright upbeat music) Bye, thanks for, oh, sorry.

I'm gonna say thanks for watching.

(bright upbeat music)