When Wilma Smith enrolled in engineering classes at UF in 1941, heads turned.
Her male classmates and professors couldn't help but ask, "What are women doing getting into engineering?"
Smith, now 88, smiled brightly Friday night as she returned to her alma mater for the 75th anniversary of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at UF's College of Engineering.
More than 150 faculty, alumni and students gathered at the UF Hilton for a reception and banquet.
Smith was happy to be back to honor the tradition of a school and department that allowed her to make history, she said.
Once a secretary in former UF president John Tigert's office, she went on to be the first woman to graduate with a degree in industrial engineering at UF in 1959.
She took her cues from Lillian Moller Gilbreth, a woman who helped pioneer the field of industrial engineering in the early part of the 20th century.
"I wanted to follow in her footsteps," she said.
She started by taking a few classes on the side. After a few years, she realized there was no looking back.
"I got to a point of no return," she said.
By graduation in 1959, she had spent 18 years building up enough credits to garner a degree in industrial engineering.
Smith and many others began the evening with a few hours of schmoozing over hors d'oeuvres and cocktails, during which guests waxed about their school days.
Erin Wallace, a 1982 graduate of the program and current Disney executive, said she felt proud of the department and its graduates.
"UF ISE grads are top-notch," she said.
Most attendees made sure to seek out the handshake of another widely respected graduate, World War II veteran Maj. Gen. John Alison.
The 97-year-old vet was the first person to graduate from UF with an industrial engineering degree in 1936. A Gainesville native, he is the program's oldest living alumnus.
As people welcomed Alison and thanked him for his service, he fondly thought of his favorite part of coming back to UF.
"It's the memory of the fine young people that were here in school when I went here," he said.
After dinner, Wallace and department chairman Joseph Hartman led a ceremony to honor the inaugural group of recipients of the Alumni Leadership Award, a new tradition created to honor distinguished alumni.
Six alumni, with Alison as the head of the class, received the new award.
Smith later said she feels proud to now see more women in the field of engineering.
"I wonder if I had something to do with that. I don't know," she said.
Wallace concluded the evening by noting the importance of industrial engineers in today's world.
"I don't know about you, but when I read the headlines, I feel the world needs more industrial engineers," she said.
"Industrial engineers solve problems."
Alison wished the department continued success and had words of wisdom for the younger generation.
"The world is not a simple place."
