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StoryCorps In Kansas City — Breaking Into The Male-Dominated World Of Engineering

Michelle Bertuglia-Haley (left) and Lynn Bertuglia talked about overcoming gender barriers in engineering at the StoryCorps Mobile Tour in Kansas City.
StoryCorps
Michelle Bertuglia-Haley (left) and Lynn Bertuglia talked about overcoming gender barriers in engineering at the StoryCorps Mobile Tour in Kansas City.

StoryCorps' MobileBooth came to Kansas City to collect the stories and memories of residents. This is one in a series of stories KCUR has chosen to highlight.

"What was it like being the only woman in most of your classes?" Michelle Bertuglia-Haley asked her mother, Lynn Bertuglia.

In the 1970s, it was uncommon for engineering programs in U.S. colleges to accept women. But the University of Kansas did, so Bertuglia decided to give it a shot.

"There were a couple of professors that had a hard time with [my gender]," Bertuglia said. "But the first day I was there, the head of the program called me into his office and said, 'Whatever it takes, we're going to make sure you're successful.'"

When she graduated, Bertuglia found more challenges. As a recruiter drove her to an interview, Bertuglia faced inappropriate questions.

"He said, 'You know, we can put an end to this right here. We'll hire you, why don't you and I go off and have some fun?'" Bertuglia remembered. "Of course I said, 'No, thank you.'"

Another moment Bertuglia remembers is when she became pregnant with Michelle. Her boss, a cigar-smoking man named Lester, called her into his office and gave her a curt talk.

"He proceeded to tell me that being pregnant was no excuse for being late for work, for missing work, for being sick, for leaving early," Bertuglia said. "He expected exactly the same level of performance for me that he expected before I was pregnant."

In a way, Bertuglia appreciated Lester's bluntness.

"People now hear that story and think, 'Oh my god, that's horrible,' but you know what? It wasn't. He was telling me right up front: This is my expectation," Bertuglia said.

"You can do this work," Michelle added.

"I learned so much from that," Bertuglia said. "And I'm also grateful for the role models I had who are women, who had beautiful families, wonderful marriages and were very successful in a holistic sense."

The most important lesson she learned from those women? 

"Delegate ... you can't be the one to do everything," Bertuglia said with a laugh.

Matthew Long-Middleton is a community producer for KCUR 89.3. Follow him on Twitter @MLMIndustries.

Cody Newill is an audience development specialist for KCUR 89.3. Follow him on Twitter @CodyNewill.

Copyright 2021 KCUR 89.3. To see more, visit KCUR 89.3.

Cody Newill was born and raised in Independence, Missouri, and attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Cody won a Regional Edward R. Murrow award for his work curating kcur.org in 2017. But if you ask him, his true accomplishments lie in Twitter memes and using the term "Devil's lettuce" in a story.
Matthew has been involved in media since 2003. While hosting a show on his college radio station, he quickly realized the influence, intimacy and joys of radio. After graduating from Kenyon College he had a brief stint as a short-order cook in exotic Gambier, Ohio. He then joined Murray Street Productions as the marketing manager. At Murray Street he also conducted interviews, produced podcasts, wrote scripts for Jazz at Lincoln Center Radio, and made the office computers hum. In addition to working at Murray Street, Matthew has done freelance radio production and his work has been featured on Chicago Public Radio’s local news program Eight Forty-Eight. He has also worked as a marketing assistant at WBGO in Newark, NJ, where he helped to grow audience through placing advertisements, managing the station social media, improving the website, building email campaigns and doing in person promotion at jazz events throughout New York and New Jersey. Matthew has won several awards for radio production including a Gold and Silver from the Kansas City Press Club in 2017. You can find Matthew bicycling around the city and the globe.