Finding her passion for electrical engineering sent Andrea Poosikian, ENG ’19, driving up mountains in Pennsylvania to climb ladders within wind turbines and led her to become a zealous advocate for more female representation in the field.
Photo by Ryan S. Brandenberg, CLA ’14
There have been very few women around me in this field, and it’s made me much more energized about equity in the workplace. It’s something that needs to change, and I want to be part of that change.”
In her junior year as an Honors engineering student at Temple, a lightbulb switched on.
“I was taking power system-specific courses in electrical engineering. It might have been the subject or just that I had very good professors, but suddenly the information just clicked in my head,” she said. Poosikian had found the way to connect her technical and personal passions.
In response, she began pursuing student research opportunities. An internship at General Motors working in its hybrid propulsion systems research lab confirmed that she could continue doing the work she was passionate about—and do it in a way that promoted sustainability.
“I wasn’t going to spend eight hours a day for the rest of my life doing work that didn’t support our society’s transition away from fossil fuels,” said Poosikian.
But it wasn’t just that she found her calling at Temple. Her engineering classes gave her a unique skill set that helped her stand out in the job market. In addition, her time serving as the president of the Temple chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers allowed her the opportunity to develop her leadership and management skills. This combination of experience made it easy for Poosikian to launch directly into her professional career after graduation.
Post-graduation, Poosikian first served as a performance engineer at BP in their central engineering function within wind, which supports all wind farms in Houston. This eventually led to an assistant performance manager position at a wind farm in Pennsylvania that Poosikian says was a life-changing experience. She was the only woman on-site and had to commute an hour up and down the side of a mountain every day.
“Those experiences deepened my technical knowledge and my ability to lead different types of people,” she said. “It was a challenge and I made mistakes, but getting out there, climbing the wind turbines, and doing low, medium and high voltage electrical work took a lot of courage and persistence. I was a different person coming out of it.”
Currently back in Houston, Poosikian works on the reliability engineering team for BP’s onshore wind business. This role entails proactive repair, corrective repair and monitoring of the operations of a fleet of more than 1,000 turbines. She is also currently getting her master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
College: College of Engineering
Degree: BS, Electrical engineering, 2019
Industry: Sustainable energy
Hometown: Marlboro, New Jersey
Andrea is known among friends as the person who picks water bottles out of the trash and puts them in the recycling.
While at Temple, she won the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Alan Kirsch Award for Outstanding Student Member. She was also inducted into the IEEE’s honor’s society.
In the near term, Poosikian would like to work on turbine design and improving the engineering of electrical systems for three megawatt onshore machines and 10 megawatt offshore machines. Eventually, though, she would like to move into a management role. She is also currently serving as the BP Onshore Wind’s STEM ambassador with a specific focus on inspiring women and minorities to choose and stay in the engineering profession. She is currently developing and rolling out training, and doing additional outreach to increase inclusivity and respect in the industry.
“There have been very few women around me in this field and it’s made me much more energized about equity in the workplace,” she said. “It’s something that needs to change, and I want to be part of that change.”
