Purposefully breaking the glass ceiling

Her other passions include eating out at Japanese restaurants, and she said she never gets tired of holidaying in Vancouver which she refers to as “a bustling metropolis with a wilderness at its doorstep”. She loves experimenting with flavours at home and this includes some home brewing.

Karen enlightened me on her fascination with brewing her own beer. “I'm almost onto my fourth brew which will be a European Lager, but I've also brewed Amber Ale and a Canadian Blonde. With each brew, I change something slightly, and record the results so I can discover the perfect brew”. Karen explains this with fervour only a home brewer could appreciate.

On the question of what advice would she give to young Indigenous girls wanting to get into her field of work, Karen says: “Go for it! Engineering may be a bit intimidating, but always remember your contribution is valuable.”

And as I reflect on the remarkable life of Karen and the possible career paths and purposes in life for my daughter Jayde, I think of the famous words of Robert Byrnes (b.1928) a New York columnist who said: “The purpose of life is a life of purpose.”