092. A Female Engineer

Louise is a mechanical engineering major. Most mechanical engineering majors are male. There are only a handful of female mechanical engineering majors.

Sometimes, Louise would be the only female in her class. It is true that most engineering majors are male¹Poderia ser reescrito como: “Most engineering majors are indeed male,…”, but this does not mean that females cannot be engineering majors.

Louise knows that people don’t expect her grades to be as high as her male classmates. She also knows that people don’t expect her to make as much money as her male classmates.

The final exam was coming up and Louise wanted to join a study group. She, Roy, and Benjamin formed a group. Roy and Benjamin were (have been) Louise’s friends since their first year of college.

Roy asked Michael if he wanted to join their group. They knew that Michael was the smartest guy in the class, if not the entire major. He always got good scores.

“Why would I join your group? Don’t you guys have like Cs?” he said. “Actually, I have a B+,” Roy said. “If it isn’t an A, it’s not good. Besides, I don’t want to study with Louise. She’s a girl,” he said.

“I may not be the smartest person in the class, but I’m doing well,” Louise said when she heard this. “I doubt it,” Michael said. This motivated Louise to study harder.

For two weeks, she did nothing but study. She even studied while she ate. When it came to the final exam day, she was ready. She thought the test was easy!

The professor displayed everyone’s score on the whiteboard. He put the initials so people don’t know other people’s scores. Louise got the highest grade in the class. “Hey Michael, what did you get?” she asked. “98. You?” he said. “100!” she said. Michael gasped.

“²Credit: Eslfast