A Night at the Gala: Engineering Edition

On the first evening of May, the 36th floor of the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Manhattan was buzzing with energy, its windows framing a dusky view of Central Park below. The hum of small talk and chatter, the occasional flash of a camera, and the clink of glasses filled the air as guests in cocktail dresses and tailored suits bustled into the ballroom foyer. 

It was the start of the much-anticipated ASME Foundation Gala—a celebration of engineering’s next generation and the programs that support them. Right alongside the finger food and floral centerpieces were science kits and mechanical gadgets (courtesy of Jay Flores, creator of It's Not Magic, It's Science!), drawing smiles and sparks of curiosity from the crowds gathering around them.

Beneath all the elegance and accolades, the night posed a deeper question: What does optimism mean in a field associated with technical mindsets, spreadsheets, and stress tests? Optimism Engineered, the theme of the Gala, is an interesting phrase to think about. Can optimism be engineered? What does it mean to engineer hope?

One answer to that question took the stage in the form of Kimberly Betty, a young woman from Jamaica, and a mechanical engineer who rose against the odds to get to where she is today. Her story, which began on a pre-med track in a Jamaican high school, unfolded as a testament to the power of encouragement, access, and relentless perseverance.

Kimberly Betty’s Story

It was a physics teacher who first nudged Betty off the medical track, seeing something in her that she hadn’t recognized yet: Her problem-solving mindset and a natural ability to think outside the box were the makings of an engineer. “I didn’t want to be an engineer,” Betty recalled with a smile, explaining that at the time, she had no idea what engineers did. 

“I thought they were car mechanics with grease under their fingers,” she shared, drawing laughter from the engineers in the ballroom. “But in 2019, I had the opportunity to go to a summer camp at Kettering University in Flint, Michigan, where I was introduced to how engineers can positively impact the world. Reflecting back, I realized that my high school teacher was right.”

But the path getting there was anything but straightforward. While her speech alluded to the challenges, Betty shared more of the backstory in a follow-up conversation offstage.  

 

An Uphill Climb

“My visa was declined twice,” she said, recalling how her final interview at the embassy was a tear-filled, last-ditch effort to make it to the U.S. for the summer program. But third time was the charm. She received her visa just hours before her flight, left straight from the embassy to the airport—and got pulled over en route. Her stepdad convinced the officers to help, and they ended up with a police escort. She made it just in time, hearing “last call for Kimberly Betty” echo through the terminal as she rushed to the gate.

That camp marked the beginning of her engineering journey—and her future at Kettering, where she would go on to earn her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.

However, just months into her freshman year, Betty’s world shifted again: her father passed away. Grieving and far from home, she found herself questioning everything. “I asked myself, should I go home now? Is this it?”

It wasn’t: Betty made the decision to push through. “There were days I didn’t want to do it,” she admitted. “But I told myself: Just do it for you. Not for your parents, not for anyone else—but for yourself. At the end of the day, it’s your life. What do you want from it?”

And not long after, the support she needed arrived. Through an engineering professor, Betty discovered the ASME Foundation and applied—successfully—for the ASME/Ansys Scholarship. 

 

Optimism Engineered

“This scholarship made the impossible possible, allowing me to fulfill my dream of completing my degree. And it came at such a time of other burdens and lifted the heaviest one off my shoulders,” Betty shared with the audience. “This is the kind of help that is life changing.” 

Today, she works as a mechanical engineer at Lear Electronic Systems Division while pursuing a master's degree in mechanical engineering at Oakland University. “I aspire to continue my studies and one day earn a Ph.D. I am honored to have the chance to thank Ansys and the ASME Foundation for being there when I was in need, and for keeping the future of my doors open,” she told the Gala audience. “I hope many others will have the opportunity and the generosity to support—it made all the difference for me, and I know it will for others.”

And that is what engineered optimism looks like. It’s the teacher who saw something in a young student before she saw it in herself. It’s the mentor who stepped in with advice at the right moment. It’s the resilience a student summoned when she could’ve walked away. And it’s the ASME/Ansys scholarship—transforming not just financial stress, but an entire trajectory. 

A Magical Night

The energy of Optimism Engineered didn’t end with Kimberly Betty’s story. Throughout the evening, a chorus of voices took the stage with inspirational reflections on their own engineering journeys. Aprille J. Ericsson, recipient of the Hoover Medal, spoke about the importance of overcoming fear of failure. Ansys President and CEO Ajei Gopal, accepting the Excellence in Industry award, highlighted the company’s global commitment to students—providing free engineering software for homework, capstone projects, and competitions to ensure cost is not a barrier to innovation. And Jay Flores, recipient of the Next Gen Award, brought it all to life with his signature showmanship.

As Flores walked to the podium to accept his award, the room (and a table full of fellow STEM influencers in particular) erupted in cheers and applause. The charismatic STEM advocate and American Ninja Warrior alum led the audience through a series of live experiments, showcasing shape memory alloys and color-changing reactions. Within moments, the elegantly dressed crowd transformed into a playful room of engineers and guests tinkering with their own It’s Not Magic, It’s Science kits placed at every table. “If adults get this excited about it,” Flores pointed out with a grin, “imagine what it can do for kids.”

The message Flores demonstrated was a compelling case for early access to STEM. “My biggest fear is that the cure for cancer might be trapped in the mind of a young girl who’s told that STEM is for boys,” he told the audience. “Or in the mind of a child born in the wrong ZIP code, or whose parents were born in a different country.” If every school can have a basketball court, he asked, then why not a robotics team? The spark of innovation isn’t magic—it’s access, imagination, and someone saying, yes, this path is for you.

That ethos, Optimism Engineered, was more than a tagline at the Gala: It was the thread that ran through every story, every speaker, and every inspired guest in the room—as well as every philanthropic program designed to turn potential into possibility. From early STEM outreach to scholarships, fellowships, and entrepreneurial support, the ASME Foundation is building the infrastructure to give young engineers a real chance to succeed. With the right systems in place, their future isn’t just bright. It’s something we can all believe in—and help build.

Because for every Kimberly Betty on the stage, there are thousands more like her—waiting not for a miracle, but for the support and access that make stories like hers possible. That kind of optimism isn’t just abstract; it’s shaped by design, iteration, and action. And that night, you could see it in motion.

Sarah Alburakeh is a strategic content editor.