Evelyn Moore knew she wanted to be an engineer from the age of 13, and the University of Missouri–St. Louis was the natural place for her to prepare for her career.
Evelyn was a single mother juggling two part-time jobs while pursuing a bachelor’s degree from the UMSL/Washington University Undergraduate Joint Engineering Program, bringing her son to the library while she studied. While it was often challenging, motherhood was also her biggest motivation.
“UMSL holds a special place in my heart because it’s where my mother and father met when they were freshmen in 1972,” Evelyn said. “I guess you could say UMSL is a part of the fabric of my history.”
"All I wanted was to someday pay for his college education, so he didn’t have to struggle like I did," Evelyn recounted during her 2022 UMSL commencement address. "I lived by the quote, ‘without struggle, there’s no progress."
Her persistence as a college student has led to a 20-year career in military aviation with Boeing, where she is vice president and program manager for T-7A Red Hawk Advanced Pilot Training Systems and T-7 programs for Boeing’s Air Dominance Division. She also led the development of a new strategic direction of a multi-billion-dollar electronic warfare upgrade program for more than 400 F-15 aircraft and was a design engineer on the world’s fastest tactical fighter mission computer on the F-15.
Evelyn also became an advocate for women and minority engineers. As the executive sponsor for the National Society of Black Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers, Evelyn has personally mentored more than 100 talented individuals.
"I believe that as you grow and learn, it is important to pay it forward and advocate for others," Evelyn said.
As for the little boy that Evelyn used to bring to the library during her college days, he graduated from the University of Missouri System and is an electrical engineer working for a Fortune 50 company while pursuing his doctorate.
