Su Fleming never tuned in to the stereotypes about women and math. And she never let being the only woman in the company of men stop her from pursuing a telecommunications engineering career.

With a natural talent for mathematics and science, and an interest in analyzing and solving problems, she realized in high school that engineering would be ideal for her. As a young Capitol College student, she had other things to worry about than being one of the only women on campus.

“The greatest obstacle I had to overcome as a college student was adjusting to a new lifestyle and struggling to support myself through college,” says Fleming, a member of the Class of 1989. She supported herself through the co-op program and worked with several companies to gain real-world experience.

“Through the college co-op program, I was able to participate in different internship programs where I gained practical experience and learned to value the challenges and rewards of becoming an engineering professional.”

Fleming's career has focused on telecommunications, an area she enjoys particularly because the technology is constantly changing, which creates new challenges. She's worked for several companies during her career, including Netrix and AdTran, where she is currently a systems engineer.

During her work with both companies, she has secured hardware devices to the college for use in the telecommunications lab.

“There is no better place to donate such relevant hardware to than a college that blends academic excellence with practical learning experience,” Fleming says of the most recent donation, which is valued at almost $20,000. “Our company benefits by promoting brand awareness when our equipment is used in an academic setting. And students benefit by immediately applying theories to practice on real-world applications.”