UNF & JEA collaborate to support women athletes in STEM

The University of North Florida Athletics Department is collaborating with JEA to support female athletes pursuing STEM degrees.

The UNF Women's STEM and Athletics Scholarship Luncheon, sponsored by JEA, will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17, at the Adam W. Herbert University Center. UNF student athletes will be recognized and presented with scholarships. The event will be emceed by Mia O'Brien and keynote speech given by Donna Orender.

Orender is a sports executive and former collegiate and professional basketball player. She is the founder and CEO of Orender Unlimited, a Jacksonville, Florida-based advisory and consultancy firm. Orender travels the world as a motivational speaker and advocate for the empowerment of women and young girls through her non-profit organization Generation W.

O'Brien is the on-air host and the director of multimedia production at 1010XL, the flagship radio station of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Ten female UNF student-athletes will be presented with scholarships at the event. The luncheon will feature regional female leaders discussing topics such as STEM, sports, business and networking, and opportunities to build community relationships between UNF student-athletes and athletic supporters. All proceeds will go towards the UNF Women's STEM and Athletics Scholarship fund to support more women entering engineering fields and developing teamwork and leadership skills.

UNF alumna Margaret Limbaugh understands the value of encouraging female students to pursue STEM degrees.

Limbaugh, '97, was a single mother of two young boys when she started pursuing her electrical engineering degree at UNF. In between taking care of her kids and late nights studying, she was training three nights each week in the gym doing mixed martial arts and Jiu Jitsu.

Although Limbaugh was faced with the unique challenges of being a single mother surrounded by mostly men in both the classroom and the gym, she worked hard to develop employable engineering and leadership skills and actualize her dreams of earning a college degree and a black belt.

Limbaugh participated in a paid co-op internship opportunity at JEA and was hired to a full-time position soon after graduating from UNF. She has now been with JEA for more than 27 years and currently works as the director of electric production at JEA's Northside Generating Station, where she leads more than 150 employees who safely maintain and generate 1,350 megawatts of electric capacity for the community.

Although there are more women in engineering now than when Limbaugh first entered the field, she still encourages female students to consider pursuing the profession.

"My advice for young women pursuing STEM careers is to participate in as many networking and internship opportunities as possible to open up opportunities with other women in the field," said Limbaugh. "Then lean on each other for support and approach challenges with the mindset of succeeding together as a team."

Ticket packages are available as follows: Gold Level Supporter for $2,000, Silver Level Supporter for $1,000, Event Supporter for $500, and individual tickets for $125.

This new scholarship luncheon adds to other JEA and UNF initiatives including the Sustainable Solutions Lab.

Tickets and sponsorships are available via the website. For more information, contact UNF Athletics at [email protected]or (904) 620-2130.

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