When Dayna Smoljo ’03 Johnson ’12 MEM was thinking about her life after high school, she wasn’t sure where she would end up. In her early high school years, she didn’t have her heart set on any particular colleges, nor was she sure what she would study. During this time, a pastor at her family church suggested that Valpo might be a perfect fit. As her time in high school drew to a close, Dayna knew she wanted to attend a smaller school with a tight-knit community, and she aspired to study engineering. She says, “I was looking for something that instilled the values that I cared about, and somewhere over that period, I decided I wanted to go into engineering. There are only a few four-year engineering schools that aren’t large state schools. So, Valpo was starting to check all of the boxes that I was looking for.” Dayna adds, “You kind of fall in love with campus when you come visit, so that sealed the deal for me.”
During Johnson’s time on campus, she became heavily involved in the Society of Women Engineers, as well as several other campus organizations and intramural sports. She says that these experiences merged together to form the person she is today. In 2010, she returned to Valpo as a remote learner to earn her master’s degree in engineering management. She chose Valpo again for similar reasons. “I wanted a program that was rooted in values, and what Valpo offered spoke to a lot of the stuff that I cared about. As I was progressing through my career, I knew I wanted to be a leader who was rooted in values, so I knew that Valpo was for me.” Adding, “At Valpo, your faith and your education are ingrained in one another, which I think is so special. As humans, we need to rely on our values and faith. How you act, how you behave, what you believe, who you believe in, and to me, I think that so much at Valpo is just the integration of those two. Whatever your faith is, whatever your values are, how does it come into play with your education?”
As Johnson’s career in engineering began, she worked for both large and small companies, on various sides of the profession. She says, “When I started at GE, I started on the power grid side and then moved into some power generation. About a year and a half ago, I started getting the itch to do something else again. So, I made the jump back over to the water side and took a role with Ecolab, leading the technical consulting team for the sustainable growth solutions.” Dayna explains, “What we’re focused on is figuring out how to save our customers water, through large and small ways. I believe that a significant portion of what engineers do is tied to helping people. As I reflect on my career, something that was incredibly important to me was finding a way to positively impact people and make their lives better.”
Dayna continued to make an impact by staying involved with an organization she started with as a Valpo student. Recently, she completed her tenure as the Board of Directors President of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). For Johnson, serving the organization was a way to give back to the community of women and advocates who have always supported her. She explains, “I’ve had a network of women through SWE that have always been there. They’re my cheerleaders and my biggest advocates in life. Eight years ago, I joined their board of directors and spent a total of six consecutive years, concluding with my tenure as president.” She continues, “I have two sons who are now 11 and 8. So, I did my first term on the board of directors with a newborn baby. One of the things that I wanted to accomplish personally during that term as president was being a role model for them and letting them know that anybody can do anything. Which I think I accomplished because when my older son was probably about three or four, he was surprised to hear that boys could be engineers, too, because he had only ever heard about SWE and his mom.”
Through all her experiences as a woman in a male-dominated workforce, Dayna has learned a great deal about herself and the leader she aspires to be, much of which stems from her time at Valpo. To other women in corporate America, she offers this piece of advice. “One of the things that has been hard in my career to learn is to hold your ground. To stay true to what you believe in and let that guide you forward. There have been leaders and managers I disagree with, but I usually don’t back down from my opinion. I make sure that my presence is known, which doesn’t mean you have to be there stomping your feet and yelling. You can simply say, ‘No, we are not in agreement on this. Here is why.” Johnson concludes, “I think it goes back to my education at Valpo being rooted in such a faith and values-based culture. It has influenced who I am and continues to do so. That’s the kind of leader I want to be. I don’t want people ever to question my morals or the reason I made a decision.”
