ChE alumna strives to make engineering more comprehensive, inclusive

46% of undergraduate students at the University of Illinois Chicago are first-generation college students. Additionally, only 7% of Latinos hold a graduate degree, according to Pew. One of these first-generation and graduate students is UIC Chemical Engineering Department alumna Margarita Salazar, who graduated in 2021 with her bachelor’s degree and in 2022 with her master’s degree, both in chemical engineering.

Salazar currently works as an environmental, health, and safety engineer (EHS) at Caterpillar Inc. in Peoria.

As an EHS engineer, “I’m focused on environmental, health, and safety compliance as well as management and engagement of various projects, and cultural transformation at the corporate level. My next role includes operation supervision and facility sustainability while upholding an EHS focus.”

Salazar said one of her favorite projects she’s been a part of since joining Caterpillar has been refreshing the contractor safety program to make the existing one more effective and efficient.

“I enjoy working for Caterpillar because they really put their money where their mouth is by allocating resources across the globe to better employee’s safety and get them home to their families at the end of the day.”

Despite her early career success, it wasn’t always apparent for Salazar to go into engineering. Initially, during her time at UIC, she began as a biology major on the pre-medicine pathway. In fact, her persistence is evident and despite having to leave UIC for a short time, she continued working toward her education.

“If you ask anyone in pre-med why they want to be a doctor, usually they say that they want to help people, which was partly why I wanted to be pre-med at college,” Salazar said. “I wanted to help the overall health of people and even prior to college, in high school, I did take advantage of some of the Women in STEM seminars when I didn’t know a thing about STEM, but I was interested in the science, and that also kind of expanded my view.”

Similarly, to why a lot of individuals go into the medical field, which is to help people, Salazar believes being an engineer is about solving problems by making more efficient solutions and helping the health of others at a larger scale. From her previous research work for water treatment systems in grad school to her current work, her philosophy in life includes a cleaner Earth and health and safety for all.

She also strongly feels every engineer should be more inclusive. The concept of solving problems to provide accessibility for everyone is why Salazar earned her minor in disability and human development. She believes it has benefited her in this role in problem solving and thinking intersectionally about crucial issues that affect everyone.

For example, an article Salazar read highlighted a Black woman who couldn’t get soap from a dispenser because the sensor wasn’t designed for darker-toned individuals. So, when the woman put her hand underneath the dispenser nothing came out, but if there was a napkin the sensor picked up on that because the napkin was white and so, soap was dispensed.

“Although, that’s the thing about engineers,” Salazar said, “No one who designs products is intentionally thinking ‘We’re going to exclude a specific demographic of people.’ But if that design group had been more inclusive, they would have adjusted their product to exist without the bias. People who design processes, design products, and design buildings, should strive to make the world more accessible and think about any limitations.”

Salazar’s experience at UIC is one she treasures because of the connections she’s made, the experiences and challenges she’s faced, and finding her support system.

“Be there for the people in your support system, just as you would want them to be there for you when you need support,” she said. “My favorite thing about my UIC experience would be finding my support system with my peers, whether it was working with them, or spending time outside of school, and having people that you can count on.”

She also emphasized that making connections with her peers and professors has helped her professionally.

Salazar also said that it’s important for students to know not to settle when it comes to accepting a position post-graduation and that working hard and knowing your worth can get you far when applying for jobs.

“Just remember that every no means a yes is that much closer, and your support system will be there, people who will root for you and who will support you” she said.