At the EcoCAR EV Challenge Year 4 Competition, the General Motors Women in STEM Award recognized exceptional women advancing automotive engineering, strengthening their teams, and redefining what leadership looks like in STEM. This year’s awards celebrated women whose technical excellence, advocacy, and personal journeys reflected the power of reframing barriers as opportunities for confidence, visibility, and impact.
During the award presentation, Katerina Hrisopoulos, senior systems safety engineer for ADAS and AV System Safety at General Motors, stated, “So many of you shared stories about taking the moments where you were the only woman in the room, and turning them into a source of strength. We heard ‘I’m the only girl’ become ‘I’m the first girl.’”
That spirit carried through the recognition of this year’s honorees: Aisha Chaudhry of McMaster University, who earned first place, and Milenna Raposo, also of McMaster University, who received the second-place award. Both were honored for their technical contributions, leadership, and commitment to creating stronger pathways for women in STEM.
Women in STEM second-place honoree Milenna Raposo was recognized for a confident and engaging presentation that highlighted her uncommon pathway into automotive engineering and the perspective she brings to her team. As Mobility Challenge Lead, Raposo recruited a 100% female subteam, tripled her team’s technical subteam participation in community outreach, and helped connect technical work with community-centered impact.
Her work brought a user-centered, data-driven approach to the Mobility Challenge, helping bridge the gap between technical and nontechnical work. Through outreach and engagement, she also demonstrated a long-standing commitment to inspiring younger students and expanding access to STEM opportunities.
Raposo said, “The main theme of my presentation was: ‘Do It Anyway.’ My idea of success as a woman in STEM is to take thoughts like ‘I’m the only girl,’ or, ‘I don’t have the same background as everybody else,’ and shift them to ‘I’m the first girl,’ or ‘My experiences are unique and I’m qualified for this.’”
Raposo’s decade of youth STEM outreach, international-level work, and ability to turn self-doubt into confidence stood out to judges. Her story showed that the road to success in STEM does not need to be linear to be extraordinary.
Her counterpart, first-place honoree Aisha Chaudhry, was recognized for her technical depth, authenticity, and powerful advocacy for women in engineering. As the Systems Design and Integration Powertrain Lead, Chaudhry guided work on the design, fabrication, and testing of motor mounts, a rear powertrain cooling loop, and a skid plate.
She also personally solved a critical fitment conflict that required balancing safety and performance, demonstrating both technical authority and practical engineering judgment. Her leadership helped advance complex vehicle systems while strengthening the confidence and capability of those around her.
Beyond her technical work, Chaudhry created intentional opportunities to recruit and retain women on her team. She designed a technical challenge to help bring more women into the program, built knowledge-transfer efforts so team members felt equally prepared, and mentored a teammate into a co-op role.
“To me, a woman is successful in her STEM career when people assume she is a knowledgeable technical authority when she enters the room. Now, I walk into our labs knowing there are students who feel more confident because I’m there,” said Chaudhry.
Her presentation also reflected the personal side of leadership, including the influence of her mother and the importance of walking into technical spaces with confidence and pride. By leading visibly and authentically, Chaudhry helps answer an important question for younger women before they even have to ask it: whether this field is for someone like them.
Both Chaudhry and Raposo exemplify the spirit of the General Motors Women in STEM Award. Through technical excellence, outreach, mentorship, and advocacy, they are not only shaping the future of advanced mobility, but they are also paving the way for the women who will follow them into STEM.
Their work is a powerful reminder that the future of automotive engineering will be driven not only by innovation but by leaders who bring purpose, perspective, and courage to the work.
Congratulations to all the Women in STEM presenters who showcased their dedication to EcoCAR and their inspiration for future generations:
- Skye Myers (ERAUBCU)
- Kelly Nguyen (ERAUBCU)
- Aisha Chaudhry (MAC)
- Laura Giron Bedoya (MAC)
- Milena Raposo (MAC)
- Sandra Onyishi (UA)
- Emma Moosman (UCD)
- Pavani Vikram (VT)
