Mechanical engineering alumna earns P&G top performance award
Laura Wasson ’12 was recognized for her work in robotics technology by the Cincinnati-based company
Mechanical engineering alumna earns P&G top performance award
CEC alumna Laura Wasson ’12 was recently awarded Procter & Gamble’s CEO Award, placing her among the top 5% of employees recognized for outstanding contributions and performance. Wasson serves as a robotics application development technology leader at the company.
“I just really love automation and robotics,” Wasson said. “It is a huge passion area for me, and so I think any chance I get to talk about it, I love it.”
After earning her Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at Miami, Wasson got a Master’s in electrical engineering from the University of Cincinnati and an MBA from Xavier University. All the while she was working for Clippard Instrument Laboratory doing hands-on automation work for the company that specializes in pneumatic valves.
Then, Wasson secured a job in packaging with P&G, the Cincinnati-based company that produces such brands as Tide, Crest, Old Spice, Pampers, and several other household names.
“That was such a fun job,” Wasson said,” I would work on something, and then I could go into the store and see it on the shelf.”
That same gratification comes from her involvement with Miami. After speaking to a class, she learned that one of those ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈÊÓƵs ended up getting a job with P&G.
“That's one of those cool connections where you're like, ‘Oh my gosh, I was sharing something I'm really passionate about.’ And it also brought in someone else,” Wasson said.
Another source of that passion is derived from becoming what she wanted to see as a child.
“I feel like growing up, I didn't see enough women role models in STEM fields,” Wasson said. “And when I did, it was in high school, and that's really what drove me to engineering – seeing other women who were doing it.”
Growing up, Wasson said she knew she’d go to Miami for college; afterall, that’s where her parents met. She too would end up a Miami Merger by the end of her time in Oxford, having met her husband Matthew Wasson ’12 on campus. The same fate happened for her sister as well.
With a family full of RedHawks, Wasson said it's easy to stay connected with Miami. In the years since she graduated, Wasson has given lectures to classes on campus, and she sits on the advisory board for the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering.
She said she’s impressed with the growth of the College of Engineering and Computing, including new technologies and spaces like the Smart FIT Lab and the push for collaboration between engineering specialties.