Ulteig proudly celebrated “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day” (IAGTED) with North Dakota State University (NDSU) last week. This nationwide event connects 8th grade girls with women engineers to help inspire interest in STEM careers.
NDSU has hosted this event annually since 2011, drawing increasing numbers of participants each year. The 2026 event was the largest yet, including nearly 250 students from several different area middle schools. This marks the third year that Ulteig has partnered with NDSU to support IAGTED. Ulteig engineers Mari Beedle, Katrina Dietz, Lydia Gross, Alena Pringle Melkert and Katelyn Mortensen all took part.
The day’s events began at NDSU with a panel discussion where Ulteig Graduate Engineer Katrina Dietz fielded questions from students on a variety of topics, including: how much education one needs to become an engineer; the global impact of engineering; typical working hours; common projects and the brainstorming process; and daily applications of engineering.
In the afternoon, our Fargo office welcomed a group of 36 students for a tour of the facility and hands‑on STEM activities, which included dropping an egg from the second floor, building a mini marshmallow catapult and using machine learning to train and test an AI model to recognize different drawings they created. Each challenge demanded creativity, teamwork and a learn-test-improve approach to problem resolution—traits Ulteig engineers employ every day.
Students also had the chance to meet with engineers for more in-depth conversations about their work, gaining insights into real-world engineering applications and seeing first-hand how innovation and leadership show up in the workplace.
Check out WDAY-TV’s coverage of the action.
Transmission Line Design Engineer Alena Pringle Melkert has a special place in her heart for this event, having participated as an 8th grader more than a decade ago. “I still remember attending my own Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day event in 2015,” she said. “It’s been a rewarding journey, going from a young student in the audience learning from engineers to eventually sitting on the panel as an engineer myself. Sharing my passion for STEM and hopefully inspiring another young girl to follow this path is one of the most rewarding parts of my journey.”
As we reflect on this year’s Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, we are reminded of the profound impact that early exposure, mentorship and representation can have on young women exploring STEM careers. Ulteig is proud to support events that spark curiosity and empower young people to see themselves in engineering roles. We extend our gratitude to NDSU, our dedicated women engineers and the students whose enthusiasm made the day unforgettable.
