At York College of Pennsylvania, Maura White ’27 is pushing boundaries in two traditionally male-dominated arenas: women’s wrestling and mechanical engineering.
A Mechanical Engineering major and standout on York College’s women’s wrestling team, Maura White is taking on two of the most demanding, male-dominated paths on campus. She does it with discipline, persistence, and a genuine love for what she does.
“I’m in it for the love of the sport,” she shared on LinkedIn. “We don’t get scholarships to compete. We spend 2 hours a day practicing and an extra hour or so doing workouts from our coach. And to balance that with a degree that stumps about 50% of those within the major is not easy.”
Leading Women’s Wrestling
That dedication has paid off. White won 32 matches during the 2024–25 season, bringing her two-year total to 52—the most in the program’s young history. She’s now eyeing the 100-win mark before she graduates.
Her sophomore season included a title at the New Standard Invitational, a third-place finish at the Pennsylvania Collegiate Women’s Championships, and a second consecutive trip to Nationals. She was one of six Spartans to qualify for the 2025 National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships, a significant jump from the previous year when she was the program’s lone representative.
“Last year it was just me,” White says of her Nationals debut. “This year, I had friends with me. It was really nice to be able to share that experience.”
White started wrestling in first grade and was the only girl on her team until her senior year of high school. She’s helped grow the sport for girls at every level she’s competed.
“In community wrestling, the title was just boys wrestling,” she says. “In middle school, they changed it to boys and girls wrestling. In high school, my coach told me my drive is the reason he wants to continue to foster women’s high school wrestling.”
Music Meets Engineering
That same persistence carries over into her academics. When she started looking at colleges, White had a few specific criteria. She wanted a smaller school with women’s wrestling, an Engineering program, and a band where she could continue to hone her love for the flute.
As a child, White loved building with Lego blocks, Lincoln Logs, and snap-together train sets. She chose Mechanical Engineering as her major, drawn to its broad applications across multiple fields.
“If I wanted to do aerospace, I could go into it through Mechanical Engineering,” she says. “If I didn’t like it, I could go into energy or turbines or move to something else.”
White’s college life goes beyond engineering and athletics. She plays flute and piccolo in York College’s Wind Ensemble and is part of the WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) program. Through a Department of Defense SMART Scholarship, she secured funding for her undergraduate degree and a guaranteed job at DEVCOM following graduation.
‘Foster the Family Atmosphere’
Even with a packed schedule, White makes time to build friendships, both in Engineering and on the mat.
“I love my coaches. They know when to tell us to suck it up and keep going and when to really have heart-to-hearts. We have pasta parties, paint pumpkins, and really try to foster a family atmosphere,” she says.
That sense of belonging is something she hopes to help other women find as well.
“Something that’s very prevalent in engineering and wrestling is that they’re male-dominated. If you’re alone in that, then it’s very isolating when you’re the only girl in the room,” she says. “If you just keep your head high and know that you belong there, you’ll keep moving forward.”
Whether in the lab, on the mat, or playing in the ensemble, White isn’t just pushing boundaries—she’s reshaping them. By staying true to her passions and showing up with purpose, she’s inspiring the next generation of women in engineering and athletics.
