Women in Engineering Program alum helps Purdue students form community in Indianapolis
Beata Johnson (BSChE ’16, MSME ’24, PhD ENE ’24) loved her time at Purdue University because of the Women in Engineering (WiE) Program. So when the opportunity arose in 2024 to bring WiE programs and community to Purdue’s expansion in Indianapolis, Johnson eagerly accepted the job.
“I was excited to get to be a part of the growing Purdue community here,” Johnson said.
When she began undergrad in 2012, Johnson wasn’t sure what to expect from college. While she was a lifelong Indiana resident, excited about Purdue and only aware of WiE, she didn’t know all that WiE could offer her until she was in West Lafayette.
Her involvement with the community started with one meeting. And then another.
By the end of her first fall semester, Johnson had embraced WiE. She had enrolled in the Women in Engineering Seminar (ENGR 19400) and participated in the Mentees & Mentors (M&M) Program. It was just the beginning of her time in WiE.
“(The seminar) was really helpful to me in getting to hear from so many different alums,” Johnson said. “It also connected me with so many women engineering students who are further along. That became a good connection point early on and opened my eyes to the breadth of pathways through engineering that were possible. It shaped my college experience and my future experiences as well.”
Johnson became part of the WE Link student leadership team — in which current engineering students answer prospective students’ questions about Purdue and WiE as a whole — in 2013 and continued until she graduated in 2016. After two years at Eli Lilly and Company, she returned to Purdue in 2018 for a master’s and doctorate. Johnson continued her connection with WiE as part of the Graduate WiE Network. As she locked in on research, especially for engineering education, Johnson saw WiE once again contributing to shaping next steps.
“Part of my journey through graduate school was reflecting on the impact that different student support professionals had had through my experience,” Johnson said. “I started looking more broadly at opportunities to support students on their journey, and that’s where my position at Purdue in Indianapolis came in.”
In June 2023, Purdue University announced the expansion to the capital city, opening in July 2024. That meant significant resources were needed at the urban location to help engineering students thrive.
Senior assistant dean for student access and success and Leah H. Jamieson Director of Women in Engineering Beth Holloway thought of Johnson immediately when the expansion talk started. Holloway — who knew Johnson well because of Johnson’s consistent involvement in WiE over the years and also because she was on Johnson’s PhD committee — petitioned for Johnson to be added to the staff in Indianapolis.
Johnson was hired in a split role — a lecturer for Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) and the assistant director for WiE in Indianapolis — in June 2024. With the importance WiE played in Johnson’s time as an undergrad and graduate student in West Lafayette, it was a full circle moment to join Holloway’s team in a new role.
As assistant director, Johnson develops and facilitates programming designed to support and empower women engineering students. She oversees the M&M Program, fostering a supportive network that helps engineering students navigate academic and professional paths. She also leads the seven-person student leadership team.
“I am so excited to have Beata as part of the WiE staff in Indianapolis,” Holloway said.“She has a heart for students, and she studied the impacts of extracurricular activities on students’ educational experiences during her PhD program. She’s the perfect fit for WiE in Indianapolis.”
When Holloway asked Johnson to spearhead the expansion of M&M to Indianapolis, Johnson was happy to oblige. Not only does the program have a rich, 30-year history of successful and well-connected students, but her personal connection enhanced her own Purdue experience.
In Indianapolis, M&M began with one or two mentors for a group of new students in similar majors. M&M will continue offering group mentoring and begin offering one-on-one mentoring by pairing first-year students with a sophomore, junior or senior from the first day of class in the fall.
Johnson is excited to see the WiE community expand in Indianapolis.
“The community here has grown organically from a handful of students planning activities to a consistent group at monthly meetings,” Johnson said. “Watching them grow as leaders in the program is something that is meaningful to me. It makes me excited to come to work.”
The first year of laying groundwork drew to a close with WiE’s final monthly meeting of the academic year in April 2025.
“I think we’ve really found our flow,” Johnson said. “They’ve grown so much through this year, and I’ve been able to grow with them in supporting the WiE community.”