LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — March is Women’s History Month, and on Tuesday one woman from Little Rock will be highlighted for her great strides as an engineer in the U.S. Navy.
The Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority has taken the time to honor women from both the present day and from the past for their efforts to better all of our lives for years.
Now, they will proclaim March 28 as Dr. Raye Jean Montague Day here in Little Rock to celebrate her achievements during Women's History Month.
"Dr. Ray Montague, she just exemplifies everything that we stand for. Born in 1935, in Little Rock, you talk about a person that's just a trailblazer in her career," LRWRA CEO, Greg Ramon said.
The proclamation will be presented at 4 p.m. at the Centre at University Park in Little Rock.
Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr., Ramon, the son of Dr. Montague will be present along with the community to honor the trailblazer who was the U.S. Navy’s first female program manager of ships and revolutionized ship design by creating the first computer-generated rough draft of a U.S. naval ship.
"Dr. Montague, she started in 1956 with the Navy as a clerk typist and quickly moved up. She was managing the computer program with the Navy and then she got into actual ship design," Ramon said. "So, here's a person from Little Rock that had very little knowledge of engineering and then quickly became an engineer."
Montague was also the first person to teach computer science within the Navy.
The Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority will also honor Women’s History Month by having seven women from the company attend Southwest Magnet High School to talk to young girls about the different careers that exist within STEM careers.