Today@Dal

From Tuesday's Chronicle Herald:

Chronicle Herald photo.

Shalyn Williams didn’t set out to be a “first.”

But the young Halifax woman does remember thinking, “I’m not like every other girl.”

Now this 27-year-old trailblazer hopes other girls break out of other boxes society creates for them, something she had to do long before reaching a major Nova Scotia milestone.

“It’s the longest title ever,” she laughs today, sitting inside Stadacona, a part of Canadian Forces Base Halifax, where she works for military contractor Lockheed Martin.

“First African-Nova Scotian female engineer.”

She wears the mantle quietly but proudly, even though it came as something of a surprise.

The long-time army reservist, mechanically minded, modest role model learned about the distinction by email, shortly after earning her electrical engineering degree from Dalhousie University in 2010.

But her determination to take her own path goes way back.

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