Meet Miss Engineering: This Year's Miss USU Uses Platform to Encourage Women in STEM

Utah State University engineering student Regan Tracy fell in love with space exploration and STEM at 10 years old and decided right then and there she wanted to grow up to be an engineer. That was the passion behind her platform while running as Miss USU: creating a new inclusive environment for underrepresented groups in STEM.

“Stepping out of your comfort zone is difficult, but it’s even more difficult when you’re in a setting with people who don’t look like you,” Tracy said. “But all the best things happen when you challenge yourself, and I wanted to challenge others in engineering to do the same thing.”

Tracy was crowned Miss USU in April 2023 as a part of a pageant that happens annually. Although she did not expect to win, Tracy wanted to use the opportunity to share her love of engineering and step out of her comfort zone. Friends and family alike flocked to support her that night.

“It felt like time slowed down when they said I had won,” she said. “I was so overwhelmed with love and gratitude for those who came out to support me. It pushed me to really do my best in this position.”

As Miss USU, Tracy represents the university at sports events, student events and every engineering event she can find time to attend. She has spoken with young women about internship experiences, run booths at Science Unwrapped conferences and is even the Utah Society of Women Engineers SWENext counselor, encouraging girls to get involved in STEM. In October, Tracy was awarded the Student Pathway Award from the Women in Tech Council for her dedication to her STEM studies.

Part of her platform is to increase collaboration between the College of Science and the College of Engineering, which requires a lot of cold calling, emails and asking for collaboration. An event between oSTEM and Women in Science took place earlier this year, and Tracy has many more collaborative events in the works.

Outside of her extracurriculars, Tracy is doing undergraduate research work with the USU Chapter of the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering advisers Greg Anderson and Juhyeong Lee. She has also been working as a mechanical engineering assistant for the Space Dynamics Lab. Tracy is an avid hiker, explorer and nature expert. She will graduate in 2025.

“If I can encourage one person to stay in engineering or even see their own potential for greatness, then my position as Miss USU is exactly what I set out to accomplish,” she said. “I am so thankful to be where I am.”