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Meredith Westafer Highlight
You have to take a lot of steps in different directions before you figure out where you want to go and what the right fit is for you. If you don’t see what the end goal is, maybe it’s because it’s in a direction you’re not looking yet.
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All InAbout Meredith
- I loved horseback riding as a child and hoped I could do it for a living when I got older, but I eventually realized that I wouldn’t be able to make a substantial living doing that.
- I knew when I was in high school that I wanted to go into engineering because I really enjoyed my math classes, but I thought that I would pursue electrical engineering.
- After taking my first circuits class in college, I realized electrical engineering wasn’t for me—I changed my major to industrial engineering after gaining more insight about it from a professor.
- I started my career as an industrial engineering intern at a grocery store—I was involved with the time study aspect of production while evaluating the packaging process of various foods.
- I wanted to work somewhere that was energy-conscious and “green,” so I moved on to work in production planning for LED manufacturing when LED light bulbs were a new technology.
- From there, I moved to fiberglass mat manufacturing, which gave me further experience working with people and machinery—I also gained supply chain experience while I was there.
- Now I’m a senior industrial engineer for Tesla, helping to design the world’s best factories—my path wasn’t exactly linear, but I use every side of manufacturing and production that I’ve learned.
- In addition to my passion for the field, engineering has given me the financial stability to be able to afford to keep riding horses in my free time!
