Elsie fact #9: Getting going again

Elsie returned to Vancouver, British Columbia to recover from polio. With the strong support of her family, she was able to get back on her feet again with the support of canes. Throughout her recovery she was determined to get her career prospects back in order. Understanding the fast pace of aeronautics, she knew additional education was required which she started at MIT. 

She did not have to wait long before she was able to launch her career again. Very soon after she restarted her studies an offer came from Fairchild in the province of Québec and Elsie seized the opportunity. It was an ideal post as there were some important innovations taking place at the plant. 

The future once again looked hopeful!

Elsie fact #8: University of Michigan

Originally, when Elsie decided on the pursuit of engineering she thought she would be an engineer who worked in radio and radio applications. Becoming an electrical engineer seemed the right path to this. But life is a funny thing, and her first job led her work that was mechanical in nature and then on to aviation. Aviation captured her imagination and her electrical engineering skills were very applicable, but she wanted to learn more about aeronautical engineering specifically leading to her studies at the University of Michigan. 

At the university she became likely the first woman to complete a masters in aeronautics, which she achieved in 1929. However, the way forward was not an easy one. When she should have been celebrating her achievement, she was battling polio. While she was able to recover a great degree of her mobility, she dealt with the after affects of the disease throughout her life. Despite these challenges, she refused to give in and be labeled or diminished by the disease.

Elsie fact #7: Graduation

 After dedicated work and the resolution of some roadblocks Elsie Gregory MacGill graduated from the University of Toronto in 1927. She was the first woman to earn a degree in engineering from the university. 

Unfortunately, there were not a lot of prospects for engineering graduates in Canada at the time, so Elsie headed off to the United States to find work, and was willing to take a position that was outside of her direct expertise. 

The prospect of leaving the country to work was probably less of an issue for her as her mother had had to work in the United States before she remarried and moved to Vancouver, British Columbia.

Elsie fact #6: Engineeress

One of the fastest ways to reduce a woman's perceived standing in a professional course of study or within the profession itself is to add the suffix "ess" to the title as was done with engineer by Elsie's student colleagues leading to the title Engineeress in the engineering yearbook. Ironically, the use of it in the engineering publication at the University of Toronto was less negative than some previous historical uses in the United States where it also denoted a different and lower level of status in the training received by the woman in question.

Regardless, as time went on, Elsie would stand very firmly on the point that she was an engineer period. To her, the fact she was a woman was not worth considering by her, her colleagues or the client(s) in question. 

Elsie fact #5: A teacher's support

One of Elsie's professors stood out during her time at the University of Toronto: Professor J.H. Parkin. It was in his class that they both had to deal with the challenges of incorporating a woman into a all-male atmosphere. Classroom antics and previously accepted lecture jokes needed to be taken in hand. While Elsie dealt with her classmates "attentions", Professor Parkin ensured that his lecture material would cease to create openings for jokes at her expense. 

Parkin would reappear numerous times in Elsie's life as her studies gave way to her professional development as a practicing engineer.

Elsie fact #4: One of the boys 2

 Elsie avoided participating in some social events that her male colleagues such as those associated with new student initiations. While she was not one hundred percent involved in some of the more questionable activities, she did earn her male colleagues' respect throughout her university years and became an integral part of the class. This fact is supported in her lifelong participation in the alumni activities of the Class of 2T7 and her colleagues' acknowledgement that she played an essential role. 

Elsie fact #3: One of the boys 1

 Elsie was the only woman to be admitted to electrical engineering at this time, or any other engineering course. The was however one other woman in the School of Practical Science: Betty Lalour who was studying architecture. Despite Betty's presence, there was concern as to how Elsie's presence would affect the class of 1927 (2T7). Elsie quickly demonstrated to her male classmates however that she was there to stay and was willing and able to make important contributions!