September 30, 2021
KAWSE to host K-State alumna for engineering Career Chat
The K-State Office for the Advancement of Women in Science and Engineering, or KAWSE, will host Kelly Borgen at a Career Chat from noon to 1 p.m. on Oct. 6. Lunch will be provided to those in attendance. RSVP by Oct. 1 using at tinyurl.com/CareerChatkb.
Borgen graduated from Kansas State University in 2012 with concurrent Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in biological systems engineering. During her time at K-State, she was a Putnam scholarship recipient and was active in several student groups, including the ASABE Fountain Wars Design Team and Engineers Without Borders. Borgen also worked as a tutor for the Scholars Assisting Scholars program during college and had internships and summer research positions with the USDA-ARS, Pioneer Hi-Bred International and NSF-EPSCoR.
Following graduation, Borgen spent a summer as an AmeriCorps VISTA serving with Harvesters — The Community Food Network, before landing her first full-time engineering role with Westar Energy, now Evergy. At Westar/Evergy, she worked at Jeffrey Energy Center as an environmental and performance engineer for six years, overseeing numerous efforts to reduce emissions and increase plant efficiency. Borgen then took a position with Black & Veatch working in the remote monitoring and diagnostics program. She currently works remotely from her home in Manhattan and manages a small team of engineers who leverage specialized machine-learning software to provide real-time operations and equipment health monitoring services for large industrial and power clients.
Career Chats provide opportunities to hear from women who currently work in STEM regarding their experience, advice they may have, and how to confront and address barriers women face in their work.