Inspired by the popular movie Hidden Figures, MSOE and the Women’s Fund of Greater Milwaukee collaborated to host “Hidden Figures of MKE,” a community talk back with Milwaukee-area STEM professionals.

The event featured a panel discussion with MSOE alumnae LaTasha Langdon ’00, IT project manager for FIS, and Alkatrine Patterson Iyasele ’83, mathematics instructor at Milwaukee Area Technical College as well as Ethel Davenport, nurse education coordinator at Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, and Sheila Washburn, program director of applications development, GE Healthcare. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Mary Spencer ’82, MSOE director of career services.

Students from St. Joan Antida High School joined members of the Women’s Fund and others from the community for this intergenerational conversation. The panelists candidly addressed questions about the challenges they face in their careers and how they have successfully climbed the career ladder. They drew comparisons between their own lives and what the women in Hidden Figures experienced, and offered advice to those in attendance.