Being the only female in a male dominated program may be intimidating for some women, but for Sarah Zitcovich, a GateWay Community College student majoring in Industrial Design Technology, she doesn’t mind.
“It’s not uncomfortable or anything. Everybody is very nice and I get a lot of help,” she says as she laughs.
Industrial Design Technology involves working closely with engineers to create dynamic products with a unique look and feel, using the latest 3-D technology available. Graduates can design parts in 3D Software and then have computer numerically controlled (CNC) machines cut the parts out of solid blocks of aluminum. They also use this code for 3-D printers, to create a final piece.
“In the 30-plus years I’ve worked in this field, I’ve probably seen about 20 to 30 women that work in this trade, but the ones that do excel because they pay closer attention to detail than a lot of the men,” says Instructor Harry Jameson.
For Zitcovich, taking a unique path is not new, its just part of her journey.
After graduating from high school in Pittsburgh, Zitcovich took time off to participate in the “World Wide Opportunities On Organic Farms” (WWOOF) work-exchange program.
“It provided an opportunity to travel and work on a farm anywhere in the world,” Zitcovich says. “And that’s how I ended up here in Phoenix.”
After a few months in Arizona, Zitcovich decided to go back to school.
Zitcovich was interested in engineering. “I have a lot of uncles who are engineers,” she says. “My grandfather said, ‘you should be an engineer too,’ but I realized I didn’t want to do something so math-based like mechanical engineering with all the pre-calculus and calculus. I wanted to do something a little more creative.
“I chose GateWay specifically for the Industrial Design program,” Zitcovich says. “I looked at all the community colleges and Arizona State University, and I thought this looked like a good place to start.”
Thanks to articulation agreements between the Maricopa Community Colleges and Arizona State University, some of the classes she takes at GateWay transfer to ASU if she decides to pursue a bachelor’s degree.
Zitcovich says she enjoys the fact that the classes are very hands-on. For the final project in her manufacturing processes and materials class, she made a vise.
This program is for anyone who is mechanically inclined or wants to do something different, Jameson says. “The industry spans automotive to specialty to aerospace,” adds Jameson. “There’s a big wide-open industry for what we do. If you like creating something that is useful in society from start to finish, this industry is a good fit.”
For her career path, Zitcovich is still undecided.
“There are just so many things I’m learning right now that I can’t really say for sure what I want to do in the future,” she says. “I may continue on to ASU to study industrial engineering.”
For more information about the Industrial Design Technology program visit www.gatewaycc.edu/industrial-design-technology or contact Program Director Chris Bridgeman at (602) 286-8653 or bridgeman@gatewaycc.edu.