Expanding Your Horizons Conference: April 27, 2023
Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) is a national conference that encourages girls, grades 8-12, to explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.
Edmonds College partners with the Edmonds and Mukilteo school districts and the American Association of University Women to host EYH.
2023 Keynote Speaker: Elise Castorina
Elise didn’t always know she wanted to be an engineer. In fact, she didn’t completely understand what an engineer does, and she had never considered the profession until her high school AP Calculus teacher brought it up to her. When she was at the University of Washington and needed to declare her major, she got a crash course in the differences along the wide spectrum of engineering disciplines. Between prerequisite courses, college advisors, and talking to her friends in pre-engineering majors, she soon learned that engineering was a perfect fit for her career path, not necessarily because she got good grades in math and science, but because it aligned with the way she thought through problems and logistics.
She eventually chose to get her degree in materials science engineering because she had always found that she was fascinated by what things are made of and why. Her primary material focus in school was on carbon fiber composites, which led to her obtaining an internship and then full-time employment at The Boeing Company.
Throughout her career at Boeing, Elise has performed work for the 777X, 777, and 787 programs. During the first part of her career, she worked on the development and production integration of the composite wing for the new 777X aircraft. While standing up the brand new Composite Wing Center (CWC) factory in Everett, she supported the implementation of automated fabrication robotics and worked equipment and part qualifications. She went on to rotate to other job roles at Boeing to expand her portfolio by performing engineering drawing reviews, flammability certification test plans/reports, lab work, test sample preparation, and factory floor shop support. Additionally, she gained experience with titanium additive manufacturing (3D printing) with the Boeing Additive Manufacturing Innovation Center (BAMIC). She is currently working in the Boeing Commercial Airplane Product Development organization, performing technical project management for emerging technologies for the next airplane program.
Elise is a member of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Boeing Women Inspiring Leadership (BWIL), Women in Structures Engineering (WISE), and the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE). She co-authored the paper that won the Best of Manufacturing Award at the 2017 Boeing Technical Excellence Conference (BTEC). She also earned a certificate in Additive Manufacturing for Innovative Design & Production through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology xPRO program. She also has several published technical papers in the Boeing Library and holds multiple patents with the USPTO. She has worked with composites, metals, foams, adhesives, and plastics throughout her career and personal hobbies.
Elise is Filipina American and a native Seattleite, born at Northwest Hospital in the Northgate neighborhood. She lives in Lynnwood with her husband and their puppy, Nimbus. In her spare time, Elise enjoys crafting, cosplaying/costuming/prop-making, martial arts, playing video games, training her dog, and being a nerd.
Contact Us
Marc Gehlsen | marc.gehlsen@edmonds.edu | 425.640.1543