Q. Tell us a bit about yourself.  What is it that you do?

        

A. I am a lifelong Army Brat from Alaska who've found her place in the world by trying and failing and trying again.  Currently, for work, I am an Enterprise Architect and I also work as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) to the Federal Government on various Cyber and IT Architectural issues.   

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Q. What was your formal introduction to the tech world? What about it did you find alluring?

 

​A. My Dad, Ret. LTC (Army) is, by trade, a Mathematician.  He introduced me to math, engineering and basic computer programming very early. And at age 12, with his assistance, I was awarded a scholarship to attend Flight school in Alaska.  Once I spent hours on the flight simulators and in the cockpit, I started questioning how the plane worked and had more interest in the Aeronautical Engineering portion. What I like about technology is that it’s a puzzle and figuring out solutions and new ways to make things work is exciting. Everyday it’s something new.

 

Q. Did you foresee a future where you could incorporate the tech field into your everyday life?​

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A. Math, science, and technology are in every aspect of our lives.  I hear people say, “Another day passed and I didn’t use Algebra,” but, in actuality, every single day we are solving equations; finding “x.”.  For me, personally, tech incorporated in all aspects is in making coffee through my cell phone, completing a budget with a script I wrote to pull the data from my spreadsheets onto a database, working on my garage door or even setting up my home network.  And even now, I see my son, who's working in the IT field, working to enhance artificial intelligence into everyday household items for the elderly and those who need assistance. 

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Q. How are you using this aspect of STEAM to make your mark in the world?

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A.  Making my mark on the world is by sharing the knowledge. When I had my first “real” engineering job, I had a person that I really looked up to in the field offer to mentor me and they taught me a lot about the job and career development.  The only thing my mentor has asked of me in return is to pass on the knowledge that I've learned to someone else so they can learn from my experiences.  Continue to grow the field by helping someone else grow.

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Q. Where would you like to see the state of technology in the near future?

 

​A.  In my lifetime, I have seen the world go from no internet to now, where we have internet and cellular telephones with internet capabilities, none of which existed when I was born.  As fast as those advancements have happened, in the near future I would like to see technology help and better the quality of life for people such as those that have lost limbs and to make it more affordable, more responsive/closer to their own limbs, to make them easier to use and to provide a better fitting.  While I love technology I think it’s an enhancement to life and should never be a replacement for people.