1. How did you choose which career to pursue and what interested you about it? If you could go back to your past self, what would you do differently?

I’ve always had a myriad of interests and the career I chose, encompasses these interests in a multidisciplinary manner! I’ve always enjoyed Mathematics, had a keen interest in patient care, a solid foundation in Engineering and an aptitude for Leadership and Management. I now work in Clinical Research where I conduct clinical trials and research studies for people with pulmonary disease (patient care), analyze their MRI scan data (Engineering, Mathematics), work with regulatory institutions (Management) to ensure that trials continue to run smoothly and lead the Communications Team for the Clinical Research Professionals group (Leadership) in the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre.

If I had to go back to my past self, I would have learnt to code in more languages and would have ensured that I have a better foundation in MATLAB. During my Masters at Johns Hopkins, I came to realize that MATLAB is an integral part of Biomedical Engineering. I ended up spending a lot of time coming up to speed with regards to MATLAB which certainly could have been done earlier.

2. What are the major takeaways from your journey? Any common mistakes you see young students make during their professional career? What advice would you give to this generation as a woman in STEM?

One of the major takeaways from my journey has been to always strive to be better every day. For that, you need to be motivated and only then are you able to motivate others. Give your best in everything you do and then the outcome will not matter. It is good to move on and trust that the good you have done will bring a positive outcome, one way or the other.

Young students, early in their professional careers sometimes don’t realize the change in pace that comes with a transition from school to a working professional environment. They dismiss the value of entry-level positions and don’t speak up at meetings. I’ve seen that they stop wanting to learn more and do only the minimum required.

Advice I would give to this generation as a woman in STEM – If you do what you love, you have a higher chance of being successful. Always strive to better and do better every single day. What other people think of you is never as important as what you think of yourself. 

3. As a mentor yourself, you may have had your own mentors that helped you in your journey. Do you have any advice for girls in building a relationship and interacting with mentors, advisors, and teachers?

 

My advice to them would be to take the initiative and proactively sign-up to get assigned to a mentor/advisor via any organization that offers a Mentorship program. For example: The New York Academy of Sciences, Skillify, MentorNet and others. This tremendously helps young women to interact with people in their chosen field of interest, interact with peers who also want to pursue similar interests and ensures a great amount of networking. Once a mentor/advisor is assigned, be clear as to what you want from this association. It is important to maintain communication throughout the association, be mindful of the mentor’s time, follow-up on all tasks assigned by the mentor/advisor and be prepared for each call with questions you want to ask the mentor/advisor.

4. How do you think COVID-19 will affect the progress of STEM? What are your hopes for the future of STEM?

From my experience with mentoring students during the COVID-19 time, I see there is a disparity with colleges wanting SAT scores. Now, this is something that can really alter college application admission decisions. There are top colleges who state that SAT scores are optional now due to COVID-19, since students might not be able to take them in-person. However, there are students who were able to take the test and submit a score, which I’m sure adds to the application. There are a vast majority who did sign up for the test but could not write it because the test itself was cancelled by the testing centers. I believe that this a certainly a concern since it determines what program one may or may not get into. I want to see a world of STEM that has equal opportunity and equal access to tools and technology, across the board. I would like to see a place that encourages continuous progress over perfection. I see a world where people encourage their peers and colleagues to do better and to be better every single day.