What originally inspired your interest in STEM?
Hands on experience working with grease and mechanical parts in the family garage
is what inspired my interest in STEM growing up. There is no substitute for real-
world or hands on exposure (like FIRST). FIRST was not presented to me as an
option when I was in high school, but I wish I had been able to participate! If you
enjoy STEM topics in a hands-on setting, such as FIRST, I would recommend seeing
if you also enjoy those topics in the classroom. While classes are not necessarily
indicative of the exact work you would do in many STEM careers, they are important
steps on the road to a STEM career, and important steps to developing your ability to
think.
What’s it like working in a field primarily dominated by men?
Working in a field primarily dominated by men can be a very different experience
depending on the specific industry and company in which you work. One thing
that stands out for me, working primarily with men affects the dynamic of women
working with other women. Women can end up being more judgmental towards
other women in the workplace. Be cognoscente of this, and support women in the
workplace who are worth supporting.
Women can learn a lot from men, and vice versa. The gender gap is often portrayed
in a negative light, but you can use it to your advantage by considering your learning
opportunities and knowing YOU bring special strengths to the table in a STEM
career. If you plan on entering a STEM career, put some of your time into learning
about the differing dynamics between men and women – learn about how women
tend to think and operate, how men tend to think and operate, and about strengths
and weaknesses. Read books, read articles. Educate yourself a bit on these topics
and I think you will find it well worth your while. It will enhance your perspective
and increase your ability to function successfully in a STEM workplace, oftentimes
dominated by men.
What was college like?
College was wonderful time for me – though it was often difficult, I learned a great
deal. YOU decide what you will make of your college experience. You can make as
little or as much of the experience as you choose. If you are involved in STEM, you
are already someone who has decided to maximize your time and get involved with
extracurricular activities. Continue this in college. Also, if you do pursue learning in
STEM topics, also pursue extracurricular activities outside of your STEM. You will
enrich your experience by meeting people, gaining exposure to different viewpoints,
and increasing the gender/racial/etc. distribution of people with whom you interact.
What was your biggest challenge in college?
Maintaining balance was my biggest challenge in college. For my first two years
I struggled with maintaining health and happiness, due to high stress levels and
feeling like I was never caught up with my work. I was very active in extracurricular
activities, and had a heavy course load. For busy and driven college students, I have
two pieces of advice that stand out from my experience. First, do not be obsessed
with your grades. Obviously grades are important, but don’t let your focus on
grades overshadow your ability to learn and retain what you are learning. Second,
be aware of your health and happiness throughout college. You are learning about
so much more than academics in college. You will be making more decisions for
yourself than ever before – everything from how many hours to spend on homework,
how many hours to spend sleeping, whether or not to join certain clubs and social
organizations, who to call your friends, what substances to put in your body, having
relationships, where to live, etc.. Learn from the results of your decisions, and
consider those results in the context of how you want to live your life, in college and
beyond.
How do you deal with failure?
I am usually very hard on myself after experiencing a failure – what’s worse; most
things I consider to be failures are just small everyday occurrences when I may not
have done something as perfect as I would have liked. Let me be clear, this is NOT
a good thing. Having a perfectionist mentality, failure is something I have struggled
with for a long time. It has taken me a long time to learn to accept mistakes as a
normal part of life, and I still have to work on this every day.
What has helped me most has been observing my peers and co-workers deal with
mistakes. I tend to see men brush off mistakes or not admit their actions were in fact
a mistake, but they treat mistakes as a normal, expected occurrence – not something
necessarily wrong. Women tend to dwell on mistakes, feel bad, apologize, and then
think about it more. I’m not saying you should dismiss all mistakes and think you
can do no wrong – no one likes to work with arrogance – but I’ve learned to deal
better with mistakes by taking cues from others who can take mistakes in stride.
Do you have any advice for young women interested in STEM?
Go for it! STEM careers are so much fun! Yes, you will probably be surrounded by
a larger percentage of males for many years to come, but that’s ok. Learn about your
strengths; find ways to apply them, and seek opportunities that will let you utilize
them. Educate yourself on the differing dynamics between men and women. Learn
from the men you work with, and support the women you work with. Let me repeat,
support the women you work with (who are worth supporting).
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