In 1964, she became the first female Gadzarts, the nickname given to students attending the École nationale supérieure d'arts et métiers (ENSAM) engineering grande ecole.

[3] Nicole Christiane Schrottenloher was born on 20 July 1945 in the 18th arrondissement of Paris to a family of modest means, her father was a bakery worker.

[5] Schrottenloher was one of the first women to enter the leading French engineering schools: the first woman to be admitted to the École des ponts ParisTech had only been two years earlier in 1962.

[1] Anne-Marcelle Schrameck had graduated from l'École nationale supérieure des mines de Saint-Étienne in 1919, but remained the only woman to attend for 50 years as the rules were changed to exclude female students after her.

The expenses were covered by a loan from the Soci (Alumi society), which she repaid in full as soon as she graduated to ensure that other students could benefit from future financial support.

Her male classmates were supportive, and she made lifelong friends, but she was isolated at times, and the college experience wasn't particularly easy for her.

J'ai beaucoup hésité en apprenant que je serais la première et seule fille, mais jamais un Gadzarts n'a dû arrêter ses études pour des raisons financières.