Gallery • 4 Photos

Olivia Luesing

Keeley Whitmer inspects the cable housing of a donated bicycle Feb. 18, 2026 while volunteering with the Recycle Your Bicycle program at SIU's automotive facility in Murphysboro, Illinois. Whitmer joined the program in 2023 and is now the volunteer coordinator.

SIU student Keeley Whitmer invests her academic career in the engineering and automotive programs, two fields where, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, women are underrepresented. 

But this fact does not deter Whitmer from pursuing her passions. 

“My engineering and automotive brothers are like my family,” she said. “When they see that you’re passionate about it, and you see that they’re passionate about it, we’re a team.”  

Growing up, Whitmer recalls having interests that most girls do not share. 

“I didn’t want to play with anything that the normal girls would want to play with,” she said. “I wanted to play with cars and monster trucks.” 

It was not until her high school years when Whitmer realized she had a passion for automotive and engineering. She remembers attending an automotive camp with her grandpa and falling in love with it. 

“I thought, ‘this is it. This is what I’ve been missing,’” she said. 

Whitmer has completed the coursework for automotive technology and is on an accelerated master’s program in electrical engineering. She is also pursuing three minors, completed the requirements for the university honors program and was awarded the L.D. Willey Outstanding Student Award for automotive technology in 2025. 

Whitmer is the volunteer coordinator for the Recycle Your Bicycle program, a volunteer group that refurbishes donated bikes to give out to SIU students in need. She is also conducting paid research funded by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, where she is developing magnetic gears for cars. 

Whitmer is heavily involved in male-dominated fields, which she describes as having a brotherhood. But there’s something special about the bond between women.

“Whenever you meet those women who are really passionate in this field and actually care, it’s a tight-knit sisterhood,” she said. 

Whitmer loves the different perspectives that diversity brings to her field, but that’s not her number one value. 

“We need passion more than anything,” she said. “Without passion, there’s no point.” 

Staff photographer Olivia Luesing can be reached at [email protected]

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