Celebrating Women in STEM | Raye Montague

Raye Montague was the first person to design a naval ship with a computer, not just breaking gender and racial barriers along the way but engineering barriers as well. She wasn’t just the first female to use a computer to design a naval ship, she was the first person.

She was a firm believer in looking at obstacles as challenges to overcome, not as prohibitive barrier. "Don’t let people control you, you control the situation," Raye Montague said. "Change obstacles into challenges. You might have to step back and go a different direction, but you can achieve."

Raye went on to have a success career with the Navy, retiring after 34 years with the civilian equivalent rank of captain. Along the way she was award the Navy’s Meritorious Civilian Service Award, taught at the United States Naval Academy, became the Navy’s first female program manager of ships and so much more.

Image Credit: NavSea