Materials Development Manager, Lexmark International, Inc.
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Photo by Mick Jeffries
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Claudia Marin Goggin has lived in six countries, traveled to more than 25, and now considers Lexington her home. “I’ve lived here 12 years, seven years longer than anywhere else,” she said. Having completed a master’s degree in chemical engineering at the University of Florida, she was ready to continue her education in the school’s doctoral program when Lexmark made an offer that lured her to the Bluegrass. Having her parents in nearby Cincinnati, was a strong attraction as well.
The move in no way interfered with Goggin’s commitment to education.
“I’m very concerned with the shortage of students graduating from college with science and engineering degrees and feel it’s important to help Kentuckians become more competitive in a knowledge-based economy,” she said.
Since 2002, Goggin has volunteered with Junior Achievement of the Bluegrass, teaching science and math to all grades, from pre-K through high school. She tutors after school at the Village Branch Library, helping students with homework, and her deep commitment to the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning is evident. She has served on several committees and now chairs the organization’s board of directors.
“I went through the United Way’s Get on Board program and had a chance to look at various nonprofits in the community,” Goggin said. “I was impressed by the Carnegie Center’s programs, staff and board and wanted to get involved.”
Goggin views her biggest accomplishment as becoming financially independent at 17, when she earned a merit-based scholarship to study abroad. She took the opportunity to live and study in Lyon, France. This interest in education, as well as her strong work ethic, led her to co-found the Kentucky Bluegrass Chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and to provide leadership, as vice president, to the national board of directors of SHPE.
An ongoing concern of hers is the cultural attitude about female professional engineers in the United States, which she said is very different from what she has experienced in other countries. Comments such as “you don’t look like an engineer” both surprise and bother her.
“I come from South America, from what is commonly known as a macho society, yet there has always been intellectual equality,” she said. “We were never taught that men were smarter than women. Stereotypes about women’s limitations and abilities only hold women back and keep them from believing in all they can accomplish.”