"Now and more than ever!"
From an early age, I was fascinated with science and the world around us. Thankfully, my parents and teachers encouraged me to pursue this interest, which led me into studying engineering.
Sadly, not all kids have the same support and opportunity, and it is very important to me that we encourage young children and students to explore STEM Education. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math can be so exciting and open up a world of opportunity, while also being the key to improving society, driving innovation and manufacturing, and enhancing sustainability.
As a parent, as a mentor, as a STEM career leader, why is STEM education early on important to you?
Technology, science, and mathematics excited me even as a child. I excelled in these subjects and was lucky enough to be in a school system that fostered this by advancing me to higher level school programs. As a result, my teachers advised me to study engineering.
However, pursuing the engineering field as a woman was hard. With the three other women in my class of over 250 men, we were considered a novelty or different. Not only were we outnumbered as women in the student population, but also among professors and mentors. I have always been the type of person who is motivated by and thrives on challenges. The bigger the challenge, the more I am motivated to succeed.
By showing this attribute and determination, some teachers were compelled to become my mentors and helped guide me through challenges while celebrating my successes. Of course, there were also people in my environment who doubted my potential as a female engineer or a woman working in the male-dominated manufacturing sector. Those people motivated me even more.
"Even as a child, I didn't want to hear that I couldn't do something I was interested in. My motto was always "now more than ever" and “always move forward”.
When I successfully completed my engineering studies, I decided to take on another challenge and work in manufacturing. While many saw this as just another male dominated environment, I viewed manufacturing as an exciting, dynamic path to start my career. I started at the Perth Amboy, NJ site as a process engineer and was the first woman to work in the plant operations. I was driven to make improvements for the operations team and partnered quickly with the site’s mechanics and operators, which helped me better understand the opportunities at the site and improvements we could make to realize them. Through relationship-building, hard work, and determination, I was able to gradually work my way up by holding roles in various departments, including:
- in engineering and maintenance,
- in maintenance,
- in operations,
- in technical, and operational safety.
Having the opportunity to perform these roles in an ever-changing manufacturing environment, I was able to constantly learn, troubleshoot, and drive continuous improvement. I was able to pursue my Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at nights, which helped me develop my ability to manage and lead. Thanks to the various roles and responsibilities I’ve had, I am able to better understand what our employees are experiencing to help our teams evolve.
Looking back, I am so grateful to my parents and teachers for their early support and encouragement. I am convinced that connecting with children early is tremendously important for their education and development. It is essential to strengthen their self-confidence and support them in activities they enjoy. Since I have experienced so much blessing and support from different people, I also want to give something back.
Not only am I a mentor for my co-workers and the site’s future leaders, but also for my children (and their classmates) at school. Together with my colleagues, we regularly participate in Science Fairs and STEM activities to hopefully spark that awareness for the next generation of engineers. I am that person at school events or playtime that is encouraging imaginative play/thinking and talking to children/students about how they are limitless! The children and students are our future business leaders, problem solvers, and innovators. It is our job to encourage an exciting future of science, technology, engineering, and math. That is what is limitless!
How do you personally support or those at the support local STEM projects or programs?
LANXESS education initiative
Since 2014, LANXESS has helped to promote science teaching in schools around the world — in part through theme-based project weeks, knowledge competitions, and material as well as monetary donations.
