Last Thursday as I gathered my stuff for robotics, I heard a ding on my phone. The notification read that we would have a surprise visitor to our robotics team that evening. That surprise visitor was a leadership coach, Mrs. Alicia Benson, and she was going to visit with the team. Mrs. Benson is a professional leadership consultant and small business owner. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering and a Master’s in Business Administration. 

The journalism team had the opportunity to interview Mrs. Benson about her work, leadership skills, and her background in STEAM. She told us about her experience working for Caterpillar Inc. a leading manufacturer of construction equipment, and how her experience in management led her to start her own business. Now Mrs. Benson has built a business coaching other leaders in management on how to develop and grow themselves and their teams.

Trial & Error: So if you don’t mind me asking what do you do?

Benson: Me? So I’m an entrepreneur now. Actually. 

Trial & Error: What is that?

Benson: I have my own business.

Trial & Error: So tell me about that.

Benson: So I started out as an engineer, though. So my undergrad is industrial engineering, and I went to Kansas State (K State) in engineering, but I did robotics when I was in high school.

Trial & Error: How did you start out?

Benson: In high school, I really liked science and math and then did robotics, and then I went to an engineering and science and summer institute at K State when I was a junior. And that’s when I really decided that I enjoyed engineering, but then I went into management. So I was a manufacturing engineer for Caterpillar, and so like some of the machines you have back there like the lasers and the horizontal mill and the lathe and things like that. That’s what we had at Caterpillar, just a lot bigger, but then I went into management. I managed different teams, and then I started my business. So now I’m an entrepreneur, which means I fail all the time and learn, and then I’m constantly growing my business, but that’s the same skills that you guys are learning here. But the thing that I see that you are both doing is then communicating that. So writing about it and communicating it, and that is a really vital skill.

Trial & Error: Ok. Why did you go down that path?

Benson: Yeah. Because I like trying new things, learning, and I’ve always been curious about how things work. And so that’s why engineering really appealed to me.

Trial & Error: Ok. So, how are your skills related to STEAM?

Benson: I would say my skills are that constantly learning and being innovative, and that’s really what you are doing also.

Trial & Error: If this team was someone you would teach, what would you say to us?

Benson: I would say that what you are doing, have fun, try new things. This is that space that you can learn and all of these skills, you are going to use forever. So have fun with what you are doing now.

Trial & Error: Do you have any tips or advice?

Benson: Well, I think you already know this, but being willing to fail and try, and that resiliency to keep trying and being innovative and trying new things. And then also working as a team and getting to work with these people, that’s something that you’ll do forever in your career.

Hearing about Mrs. Benson’s journey from a love of science and math in high school to building a successful career in engineering and management was very inspiring. Her advice to embrace failure, keep trying, and to work together as a team serves as a great reminder that the skills we are developing now will help shape our futures. As we continue to grow our skills and as a team, Mrs. Benson’s words helped to encourage us to have fun, try new things, and never stop learning.

Alicia Benson – Leadership Coach

aliciabenson.com