Feb 6, 2019 By Eleanor Bailey almanac Sports Editor ebailey@thealmanac.Net 5 min read

Katie Bench of McMurray and Olivia Kisker of Mt. Lebanon thrive in what is considered a man’s world. Both are Seton-La Salle products excelling in STEM-related careers.

While pursuing her degrees in nuclear as well as mechanical engineering at Penn State, Bench noted that in her graduating class of more than 100, only eight were female.

“In my field there are hardly any women,” she said. “It’s a really small percentage.”

Yet, Bench perseveres and excels. After completing a mechanical engineering internship with Exelon Power in Kennett Square and a nuclear fuel internship at Salem and Hope Creek Nuclear Power Plants in New Jersey, Bench works as a systems engineer at First Energy’s Beaver Valley Power Station. She hopes to eventually earn her senior reactor operator’s license.

“It’s really an intense program. Lot of training,” she said. Bench added that she only knew one prominent female that had one. She met “Sandy” last year while doing her internship.

“She is my inspiration because she is the only woman I know that has done what I am looking to do and she also did it while she was pregnant,” Bench stressed.

During her formative years, another key female played a prominent role in Bench’s decision to go into a STEM-related occupation. She cited her math teacher, Kathleen Jackson, as being “incredibly influential” in her career choice.

“It was important for me to see a woman who was into math and into STEM and she gave me such a great foundation that I felt I did a lot better in college because I had such a good background,” Bench said.

Kisker shares Bench’s opinion of her high school experience. Her educators also prepared her for her profession. The 2014 graduate earned a bachelor of science degree in information management technology and a certificate of advanced study in information security management. She is a cybersecurity engineer for Booz Allen Hamilton at the Air Force Research Lab. In this role, she tests government systems for vulnerabilities.

Kisker credits her work in AV/TV at SLS for fine-tuning her diagnostic skills, which enable her to thrive in the fast-paced, ever-changing cyber world of security.

“We had to constantly troubleshoot the technology and figure out the reason behind the issue. This skill helps me in my job by discerning the issues and vulnerabilities behind the systems we are testing.”

English courses as well as extracurricular activities also proved beneficial to Kisker for life in the cyber field. In addition to AV/TV, she worked on the stage crew.

Both Bench and Kisker jumped at the chance to give back to their alma mater. They returned in December to participate in an assembly to talk about careers, particularly those in science, technology and math.

“It is important to encourage kids who are thinking of going into STEM fields,” Bench said. “People need a little more encouragement and they need to hear about the different types of jobs that are out there because I know when I was here (at SLS) I didn’t know all the different types of engineering and different types of science jobs were out there.”

Kisker agreed and stressed how important her appearance at the assembly was for girls in the audience.

“It’s important to come back to show opportunities that are available to people but it’s also important to represent females in STEM because sometimes when people don’t have good role models or people to look up to then they don’t know that that’s an option for girls especially.”

Bench and Kisker are examples to their siblings. They both have younger sisters who admire them and their accomplishments.

Faith Kisker hopes to become a doctor while Kelly Bench intends to follow in her sister’s footsteps and become an engineer. Both are seniors. Both recognized how influential their older siblings have been

“My sister has been very inspirational,” Kisker said. “Even today with women in STEM fields it’s harder. It’s easier, obviously than it was in past years, but the prejudices are still there so it’s nice to have a role model that I can look to and see and know that she did that so that I can follow that path.”

The Bench sisters grew up in Peters Township and attended St. Patrick’s Grade School in Canonsburg. Bench agreed that her sister has provided the “biggest inspiration” in her life. She is a big reason why Bench is a student carrying a 5.2 GPA while balancing activities such as lacrosse, fall drama and school musical.

Noting that she “bulldozed” through a lot of things in life simply because that is the hand dealt to the oldest sibling, Bench also admired her sister’s ability to complete difficult tasks simultaneously.

“She was one of a small population of females who graduated in her degrees not only in nuclear engineering but also in mechanical engineering, which I think is very inspiring in that she was able to do all that when she was not part of the majority but of the minority of the class,” Bench said. “She is very hard working and she has helped me tremendously figure out what I want to do. She has given me a lot of ideas.”

While the siblings have obviously learned the lessons their older sisters have advised they hope that their classmates take away the message they attempted to convey during their visit.

“There are a lot of opportunities out there for them and that it is worthwhile looking into. I hope they pay attention,” Bench said. “I also hope they take away from this day that it is important to pay attention in your classes.”

And did Bench heed that advice as a student?

“I did pay attention in class. I tried,” she said with a wide smile.