Sky’s the limit for engineer Maryzana in US

By LULU MAGINDE
AEROSPACE engineer Maryzana Madget has always had a keen interest in aviation.
Now 24, she works in the US as a project analyst for a subsidiary of Lufthansa, Technik, but the original plan was to be a pilot.
“I got to travel a lot when I was younger, with my family. But I was told by doctors, that my ears were sensitive to certain types of air pressures. So I decided that if I can’t fly it, I’ll build it.”
Maryzana, born in Port Mo9resby, is the third eldest in a family of six. Her father, a former ambassador, is from Southern Highlands. Her mother is from Central.
Due to her father’s job, she grew up in Malaysia and Belgium.
After her father retired from the public service, the family moved to the Philippines where Maryzana completed high school.
After graduating from high school in 2014 at the young age of 16, she found it hard to get into university because not only was she too young to be sent abroad on her own, but also the institutions she was interested in did

“The aviation industry in the US and Europe is predominantly white and male-dominated. So I faced a lot of sexist comments but I stood my ground. I told them I knew just as much as they did (in the aerospace engineering field) because we were taught the same things.”

not offer her any scholarship.
Then at the end of that year, she struck gold. She was offered a place to study in the US through the Dean’s Scholarship (owing to her high Grade Point Average), and the Women in Engineering Scholarship.
To date, she is the only Papua New Guinea woman in the university’s history, to graduate with a degree in aerospace engineering.
For her final year at university, as part of her graduation project, she had to build a fully functioning drone. The faculty and industry insiders were so impressed with her team’s work on the project that she was offered a job with the US Air Force.
After graduating from university in May 2019, she pursued a three-month internship with Lufthansa Technik in Miami. Two months later, she was accepted to work at the Hawker Pacific Aerospace.
Maryzana labels sexism as the biggest problem she faces as a female engineer.
“The aviation industry in the US and Europe is predominantly white and male-dominated. So I faced a lot of sexist comments and people but I stood my ground. I told them I knew just as much as they did (in the aerospace engineering field) because we were taught the same thing.”
Maryzana misses her family the most while in the US.
“Living abroad, away from the family is hard because I haven’t seen them in four years. But we talk all the time.”
She currently works as a project analyst in the Hawker Pacific Aerospace engineering department. She deals with the logistics and management for the organization.
This December will mark her two years there.
In her free time, she learns how to fly single-engine planes.
Her message to young people who want to pursue careers in Science is to never give up.
“If you want to pursue something in a STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math)-related field, don’t let anybody stop you.”
She thanks her parents, family and friends for their support throughout.
“Even though I have spent most of my life outside PNG, I was raised by Papua New Guinean parents, and so the PNG values and culture have stayed with me.”
And above all, the South Highlands-Central woman is grateful to God for providing her guidance, blessings and opportunities. She won’t forget that.