Rebecca O’Neill (she/her)

Rebecca O’Neill (she/her) is a Project Coordinator at Wikimedia Community Ireland.

1. Where’s your hometown?

Dublin, Ireland (now!)

2. How did you get into STEM?

Through a very roundabout route, mostly through technology, as I started off training as a graphic designer, but after graduation, I got a job working in the Natural History Museum (part of the National Museum of Ireland).

From there, I became a member of WITS (Women in Technology and Science), and I started down a path to my current job with Wikimedia Community Ireland. Technology and computers were always around when I was growing up, so there is no surprise I ended up working with them!

3. What is a piece of advice that you have found especially useful?

Two things, which are interlinked.

My mum told me that just because you are good at something doesn’t mean you have to do it. This was invaluable to me with art in the gig/side hustle type landscape we live in, that you don’t have to “exploit” or feel like you have to do something you have a talent for if you don’t want to.

Secondly, my dad always says that no learning is ever a waste. This is very liberating when being flexible about how and when you learn, a skill or knowledge might not seem immediately useful to you, but you never know when it might be. There is also a great satisfaction in learning for learning’s sake sometimes.

4. What’s a challenge you’ve faced, and how did you deal with it?

Navigating the world of post-2008 as a new university graduate was a huge challenge. For me, I was lucky that I got a job in the museum right after I graduated, but the ripple effects on the economy and opportunities in the years after the crash were difficult. There was a lot of navigating free labor, how to spend your time and resources, and dealing with the fact that many people in their 20's were stuck in a career holding pattern, with no prospect of advancement. I think the emotional toll of that on many people my age will stay with us. Most of us made it through, but not necessarily unscathed. I channeled my energy that may have otherwise been used in chasing career advancement/promotions into side projects, such as running social groups/meet-ups and completing an MA part time.

5. What’s something you’ve done that you’re really proud of?

It has to be finishing my PhD. When I completed my MA, I was convinced that a PhD was something that I needed to do. I didn’t see myself in an academic career, but I felt I could do it, so I wanted to at least try. In the end, that PhD led me to the job I have now and a huge international circle of friends and colleagues that I got to know through the Wikimedia movement. I have met amazing people, learned fascinating things, and gotten to see some fantastic places all because of this unique community, and I’m very grateful and proud I believed in myself.

6. What are you most excited about right now, in or outside of STEM?

In these strange times, the huge effort behind writing articles relating to COVID-19 on many language Wikipedias, as well as all the hackers and makers involved in the open community developing parts and equipment to help those effected by the pandemic.

7. What is your favorite source of inspiration?

The Women in Red Twitter stream, which documents many of the new or improved articles about women from across the world and time on Wikipedia. If you ever need reassurance that everyone faces their own challenges, and that often people find a way around or through them, you’ll find examples there!

8. What is your favorite book?

Jane Eyre, always!

Laura DeBenedetto (she/her)

1. Where’s your hometown?

Somerville, MA.

2. How did you get into STEM?

I have always loved figuring out complex systems and using data to drive solutions. This has been a driving force in my career so far as I have worked on software application, product implementation, and policy development.

3. What is a piece of advice that you have found especially useful?

Never be afraid to ask questions.

4. What’s a challenge you’ve faced, and how did you deal with it?

My first role when I graduated college entailed working with senior field electricians. There was not a given high level of trust when we first began working together. To add to that, we were often working remotely. This forced me to think creatively about how to build that trust. I became proactive and asked to come to site visits to better understand their work and to drive alignment with the work that I did on the software side. This led to really productive conversations and laid the foundation for our teams’ working relationships.

5. What’s something you’ve done that you’re really proud of?

I was part of a landing team in Tokyo to implement electrical capacity Demand Response programs to balance the grid after the Fukushima accident. I was the only person on my team to spend time with the customers who would participate in the program and was able to design demand reduction plans that suited each client. This led to a successful pilot of the program, and the grid operator (TEPCO) expanded the pilot to a permanent program after the first 6 months of testing.

6. What are you most excited about right now, in or outside of STEM?

Training for my second ultra trail marathon and my first full Ironman triathlon this summer.

7. What is your favorite book?

A Little Life.

Maryam Shafiq (she/her)

Maryam Shafiq (she/her) leads the Community Operations Escalations team at Facebook, Dublin. With a background in Finance, Data Analytics, and Operations, she made the jump to become a people manager last year, which she thoroughly enjoys.

A Karachi native (Pakistan), her most memorable experience was volunteering as a math teacher in an orphanage, and later at a school for blind children. Her journey has so far taken her to Istanbul, for her MBA and a role at Coca-Cola, Munich and London for Amazon, and then Dublin to work for Facebook.

In her spare time, she enjoys the delightful live music scene in Dublin, cooking up wild cumin- and chili-based recipes (she misses the spicy food tremendously), hiking, and occasionally surfing.

1. Where’s your hometown?

Karachi, Pakistan

2. How did you get into STEM?

An interest in science has followed me since elementary school. My father is a software engineer and a physics enthusiast. I am a math and physics lover, too, however, due to limited career opportunities in pure sciences in Pakistan, I pursued a business degree instead.

Little did I know that my MBA degree and finance experience would help me gravitate towards STEM again. At the Finance and Analytics division in Amazon Prime video, I had the opportunity to teach myself querying languages, which planted the seeds for a whole host of new learning and career opportunities, of which I am now savoring the fruits.

3. What is a piece of advice that you have found especially useful?

Don’t be afraid to be uncomfortable! You don’t need to know everything from the get-go, allow yourself opportunities to learn and improve. I’ve found it amazing to see how much potential one unlocks when leaving comfortable places and instead pushing towards the next level.

4. What’s a challenge you’ve faced, and how did you deal with it?

Getting a sponsored work visa at the start of my career abroad.

Having Pakistani citizenship makes it difficult to land a job abroad, since you need an employer to sponsor a special work visa in most countries, and quite often your application is filtered out as a result.

At the time of graduation, it was disheartening when my CV and grades were at par with, or even above, that of my peers who were locals, but they kept getting multiple offers, while I had a host of rejections in my email inbox. I mastered the art of scanning LinkedIn for new roles every morning, connecting with possible hiring managers. At the same time, I took additional courses and internships to enhance my skill set for a competitive edge. There was no shortage of self-doubt, but the key was to keep going. Every disappointment led to a new wave of motivation, and that persistence definitely paid off. I am very happy that large tech companies like Facebook do not filter candidates based on nationality. As a manager, I can see firsthand how we at Facebook strive to be diverse and inclusive in our recruitment, which makes me proud to work at Facebook.

5. What’s something you’ve done that you’re really proud of?

Defying cultural expectations and moving abroad for my education and career, with very little finances available.

Moving to Turkey was daunting at first, as I didn’t know anyone there, nor did I or my family know anyone with a similar experience. I still remember crying endlessly on the couch the night before my flight. A part of me wanted to take up the challenge full of uncertainties, but I was also incredibly scared of my life falling apart.

I took a leap, and it’s only been a forward journey since. My parents and my sister have been my biggest cheerleaders and sources of support. I am blessed in having them, especially since Pakistani society at large is still not very accepting of women charting their own course, moving abroad, and making their own career choices.

Aoileann Banks (she/her)

Born in Dublin, Aoileann Banks (she/her) graduated from Trinity College with a degree in Computer Science, Linguistics and French. Not feeling the passion to remain in that field, she tried her hand at accounting and consulting and spent four years at KPMG. Following two years volunteering and traveling the world, Aoileann returned to Ireland to work with Google. Bringing her Computer Science and finance background to the fore, she found a company culture where her broad talents could be put to good use.

1. Where’s your hometown?

Dublin.

2. How did you get into STEM?

I studied Computer Science in undergrad. I went into university totally blind to what Computer Science was all about, following in the footsteps of my cool older brother who was a software engineer and neglecting to realize that the people besides me in class were literally OBSESSED with maths and computers — to the extent they were already programming their fridges to tell them when they were out of milk….or so it felt! I felt very much out of my depth at the start. :-(

3. What is a piece of advice that you have found especially useful?

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” (Gandhi)

4. What’s a challenge you’ve faced, and how did you deal with it?

I feel the biggest challenge I’ve faced is admitting I wasn’t on the right path, and being able to find the opportunity despite feeling lost. After university, I didn’t want to be a programmer, so I joined a graduate program to train as a chartered accountant and worked in tax; I learned both of these paths were NOT for me. I chose to make the most of both experiences, and to be honest, I gained so much insight of what I didn’t want to do. Ultimately, both ‘wrong paths’ merged to lead me to the happy path I’m on now, working in finance in a tech company.

5. What’s something you’ve done that you’re really proud of?

I’m most proud of simply being a good role model. The responsibility of being a parent weighs heavily on me sometimes, as I continuously question myself and wonder what the impact of my decisions will be on my children in the future. I try to be a model for my girl and two boys, showing them the importance of working hard, being kind, having balance in your life, and living with positive attitude.

6. What is your favorite source of inspiration?

Inspiration is everywhere! Literally anywhere you look you can find ideas for things that work in one realm that could be adapted to another. Being present, mindful, and living IN the moment can help us make sure we’re open to seeing this inspiration around us.

7. What is your favorite movie?

Cinema Paradiso.

Shubhangi Karmakar (she/they)

Shubhangi Karmakar (she/they), 23, is completing their medical degree in Trinity College Dublin after an intercalated MSc. in Molecular Medicine, specializing in genomics and neuropsychiatric disorders. Their own research lies in neurodevelopment, neuropsychiatry, and pediatric and adult intensive care.

They are the Policy Lead of “Who Helps The Helpers: A National Student-Led Policy on Supporting Medical Students with Disabilities, Mental Illness and Chronic Illness”, as a Vice President of the Association of Medical Students Ireland.

This builds on longstanding editorial experience as General Manager of the Trinity Student Scientific Review in 2019/2020, Healthcare and Design Editor of both the Trinity Postgraduate Review in 2018/2019, and the Trinity Student Medical Journal in 2017/2018.

They are profiled as a future-shaping leader in Irish and global science; as a “genius of science and engineering”; and as a leader in Disability, Ethnic and Gender Diversity in academia, medicine and society by the New York Times, Irish Times, and Silicon Republic, among others. They were awarded “Woman of the Year” by the Lord Mayor of Dublin and nominated for JCI’s Ten Outstanding Young People in the category of Humanitarian and Voluntary Leadership in 2019.

Finally, they are a freelance content contributor across national and international media platforms, such as BBC investigative journalism, IMAGE publications, Irish Tatler, the Sunday Business Post, and GCN, to highlight intersectionality and accessibility across professional, political and personal communities.

1. Where’s your hometown?

Dublin, Ireland

2. How did you get into STEM?

While I enjoyed the sciences at school — I think it would have been fair to say I enjoyed everything, and then some — particular teaching experiences ruined the sciences for me at various points, chiefly because my inability to focus and point-blank refusal to conduct what I felt were “obvious and, therefore, boring repetitive exercises” didn’t work so well in a classroom-homework setting. (I would only realize at the age of 22 that these may have been the early gifts of ADHD.)

At the same time, I got drawn into teaching myself more languages and going outside of school to read psychology, so by the time I came to deciding on University, I think I was far more easily persuaded into reading something more human-focused, more malleable, and more empathetic than how I felt about STEM.

However, circumstances were such, that with my mother being a clinician, I entered a reluctant agreement with my parents to at least give studying to be a physician a try, and it’s been a remarkable experience.

3. What is a piece of advice that you have found especially useful?

From one of the best guides in my life, my therapist on and off for 5 years now, I got the advice to never compromise on myself and valuing my own work, time, and needs.

I’ve been notoriously poor at setting aside “me time” all my life, perhaps because I never seek out solitude and quietude. I’d much rather be helping someone build something, review something, or look after themselves any time of night or day than know what to do with myself and 5 minutes of silence and rest! Because of this, for a long time I also undervalued my time and the work I produced, because “I have to do something anyway”. This was damaging and landed me in unbalanced, exploitative dynamics that happen to many young creatives, advocates, and D&I consultants around the world.

Over the last year, learning how to distinguish between giving myself to people for support and giving away all of myself for people to use has allowed me to set better boundaries and standards for how I’m treated. I’m creating more professional relationships where people realize they aren’t giving me opportunities as a favor but that I’m adding value to their organization or events with my contribution and deserve to be treated as such. I’ve found this to be highly useful.

4. What’s a challenge you’ve faced, and how did you deal with it?

I think a huge challenge for me was getting settled into the study of medicine. I was so scared after my experiences with STEM in school, having moved across several countries with various teaching paces. Britain’s pace was particularly dire and repetitive, so moving to Ireland alone, I knew nothing about the place other than the fact that I wouldn’t thrive in an unstimulating environment.

I didn’t just need to work around structure, but I needed to work around my own neurodiversity that I didn’t even know about until now, five years in. However, I think I’ve made myself proud with how resourceful I’ve been in keeping my fear at bay. I’ve made myself very much at home in the essence of medicine over the years, because I love the scope for continuous learning, communication, empathy, and service of others in and outside of a clinical context.

Where I didn’t find a home, I’ve carved out my own path. From public health advocacy and running a philanthropic enterprise to policy writing and academic editorship; from undertaking research on neurodevelopment and niche genomics and clinical psychiatry to working with Pride in STEM to diversify academia; from data and AI journalism to programming in the Science Gallery network on creating accessible, artistic scicomm, I’ve tried it all and keep doing it every day!

I often say I do anything to keep me busy enough so I don’t get bored, and it’s often a simplistic answer to not have my experience of neurodiversity in academia writ large, but it’s also very true, and I love how diversified my learning of people, not in health or sickness, but just as people, has become through it.

5. What’s something you’ve done that you’re really proud of?

I’m proud of whenever I’ve had the occasion to share skills, experience, and opportunities with others who’ve come from a paucity of all of those.

I’ve delighted in honing my voice and identity in recent years, and I love when I can use it to educate and learn with people. Whereas I grew up hating my “difficult” name, the way I sounded, and the way I looked because I traveled a lot and never belonged, now I think I can finally demand that people respect my name when they use it and respect me when they solicit my insights.

Whether it’s giving public talks, or carving out a space in journalism, working up the ranks in academic editorship, or even skill-sharing in makerspaces, I’ve created platforms for my voice uncompromisingly, and that’s often been lonely but rewarding.

However, finally reaching a point where I am able to only accept and grow platforms that I can recommend to other people from marginalized communities, other people with remarkable and unique insights, to shine in the coming years long after my own voice is gone has been a point of pride for me.

6. What are you most excited about right now, in or outside of STEM?

Oooh, one of each!

STEM: I’m always liable to forget this, because I genuinely hated reading about immunology, but I do LOVE infectious diseases, so the sheer volume of preprint data on COVID-19, how researchers are assimilating, and how academic hierarchies are shifting and bringing together the world’s best minds to address a period of crisis, it’s really filled my heart with joy and pride.

Yes, I’m probably queen of the nerds.

Outside: erm… writing! Definitely. My neurodiversity means my brain is “on” to about a million things and simultaneously “off” to all those things, whichever is the less convenient option at any given time, and writing is definitely one of them.

I’m slowly working on a non-fiction essay manuscript and a particular fiction that’s been rolling around my brain for some time, so daydreaming about or even just scribbling some notes for those whenever the inspiration strikes is always exciting! Meanwhile, keeping updated and writing regular bits of journalism always helps me switch off the regular brain and decompress.

7. What is your favorite source of inspiration?

“At the end of the day, no failure is fatal and no success is final, and in the great scheme of the universe, every mark and mistake will fall to entropy anyway.”

I take a lot of inspiration and comfort in the idea of every choice we make just being random reassemblings and disassemblings of a fundamental chaos, like we’re all just slightly over-informed kids playing with slightly over-complex LEGO’s.

8. What is your favorite book?

Too many — FAR too many! Let me subvert this question and recommend an old short mockumentary a writer friend showed me the other day: Alternative 3.

Aysegul Uysal (she/her)

Aysegul Uysal (she/her) is a Safety Investigator for Dangerous Orgs and Individuals team at Facebook Ireland. After studying Political Science and Statistics as an undergrad, and Middle Eastern Studies as a grad student, at the University of Chicago, she developed a passion for studying, understanding and fighting violent extremism and related security threats.

Before moving to the tech industry, she gained experience in academia and international organizations such as NATO PA. Outside of her work, she loves knitting, traveling, and listening to podcasts.

1. Where’s your hometown?

I am originally from Bursa, Turkey. It is only 2 hours away from Istanbul and known for its famous Iskender Kebab.

2. How did you get into STEM?

I moved into STEM after realizing the nexus between academic work and the real-world impact that the tech industry offers. Facing new challenges, exploring uncharted areas, and attempting to solve issues that could potentially affect many people’s lives energizes me every day to bring my best to my job.

3. What is a piece of advice that you have found especially useful?

The only thing that is constant is change. Learning how to adapt to the constant of change has helped me to appreciate the strength behind resiliency and flexibility.

4. What’s a challenge you’ve faced, and how did you deal with it?

Finding my voice as a young, Turkish woman has not always been the easiest — especially moving to many different countries, navigating different cultures, and making myself a space of my own. I have leaned on many amazing mentors throughout to advocate for me when I could not do so for myself and to empower me when I felt lost. I was very lucky to encounter such mentors, and I strive to do the same for other people who share similar experiences.

5. What’s something you’ve done that you’re really proud of?

Learning how to knit! I started knitting about a year ago, when I moved to Dublin. I recently knitted my very first sweater and am feeling very proud of it!

Anwesha Mohanty (she/her)

Anwesha Mohanty (she/her) is a PhD student at Dublin City University and visiting research student at Trinity College Dublin. Her research regards the analysis of skin conditions using AI and Computer Vision. She holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and Engineering.

Anwesha has a great interest in public speaking, reading science books, and writing articles on her blog. She believes that ideas build up over the years and that every one counts.

1. Where’s your hometown?

Bhubaneswar, India.

2. How did you get into STEM?

I have been fascinated with science since primary school, but I used to hate maths; I never understood their application. My Mom was the person who kept me sane about them, not just by teaching me, but also by talking about the fascinating world of STEM. She used to show me the achievements of women scientists, mathematicians, and techies in the newspapers. As a result, I was well-informed that women can do well in science despite any obstacles, like my mother who has been teaching science since she was 30.

3. What is a piece of advice that you have found especially useful?

Professionally: be persistent and patient. You can achieve anything that seems like a dream tonight.

Personally: “I believe in believing myself.” I dip my feet into the things I am afraid of doing, which helps me stay fearless in both my professional and personal life.

4. What’s a challenge you’ve faced, and how did you deal with it?

I always find it difficult to deal with uncertainty. I expect everything to be known, to be perfectly aligned. I think that the perfect amalgamation of anxiety and confidence helps me deliver tasks on time.

5. What’s something you’ve done that you’re really proud of?

I am happy that I am doing well, and that I am very much satisfied with what I am doing in my life so far. I have studied in a local language (Odiya) medium school and grown in a local community. I am proud of thinking outside the box and sticking to my goals. I am proud of strongly saying “no” to some things, for not being an easy-going person.

6. What are you most excited about right now, in or outside of STEM?

I am excited about how women in the STEM community are growing! I am looking forward to more world-class leaders and entrepreneurs who are women.

Yet, at a time when engineers must meet the needs of a vast population of users with diverse opinions and backgrounds, the engineering workforce continues to suffer from gender disparity. I would like to see more gender-balanced classrooms in engineering fields. I am looking forward to more women advocating for gender diversity in STEM.

7. What is your favorite source of inspiration?

I am inspired by researchers’ persistence and discipline. Research requires discipline and staying so disciplined in research takes a great deal of endurance. I am inspired to work harder whenever I attend any kind of gathering with researchers.

8. What is your favorite book?

Manuscript Found in Accra.

Samantha Slater (she/her)

Samantha Slater (she/her) is a Policy Specialist at Google Dublin by day and a keen pole dancer by night. After studying a B.A in English Literature, she experimented in the world of advertising and NGOs for a number of years and then took a hard pivot into the world of tech policy.

1. Where’s your hometown?

Originally Co.Donegal, Ireland. Currently living in the capital city, Dublin.

2. How did you get into STEM?

After graduating, I moved straight into advertising. I loved how creative it was, but I felt there was a lack of purpose to it. I wasn’t changing the world in any way. I joined an NGO, and everything changed. I finally understood what motivated me: driving change, influencing the lives of people, and working on tough political issues. I moved into STEM, as I realized that tech policy has the potential to positively influence and shape how people live their lives, on a huge scale, and I wanted to be part of that.

3. What is a piece of advice that you have found especially useful?

Listen actively. Being a good listener is, in my opinion, one of the most important qualities a person can have in their personal and professional life. Don’t listen to fix (unless the speaker wants you to), listen because sometimes a person just wants to be heard and have their thoughts validated.

In a work environment, I think it’s one of the most strategic ways to build a relationship and connect with someone.

4. What’s a challenge you’ve faced, and how did you deal with it?

Moving from a women-centered NGO, where I was solely driven by the pursuit of justice for disadvantaged women, to Google.

I was overwhelmed and insanely proud that I had managed to get a job at Google in a really interesting area, but I was also worried and felt guilty that maybe I had “sold out” and gone to “that side”. Influenced by the recent negative conversations around tech companies, I ignored the potential that technology could have for good. And, while I adored the work of the NGO, I grew disillusioned with the lack of upward growth and the instability of funding for my job. I had to succumb to the fact that I wasn’t going anywhere and that I needed to move. That was difficult to accept, as I was incredibly emotionally invested in the work.

I got the opportunity to interview at Google. I couldn’t believe how interesting the conversations I had at the interview were. Since I’ve started, I’ve moved past that internal conflict as I can actually understand, embrace, and work on tech policy initiatives that are positive for users. Seeing how driven my colleagues are to do the right thing is motivating. I really did not expect that, and I can honestly say I’m loving it so far.

5. What’s something you’ve done that you’re really proud of?

This campaign. I orchestrated the entire campaign when I worked at the NGO, pretty much on my own. I cut corners everywhere I could — I knew there was no budget for it — but I desperately wanted to use important data we’d collected to force people to open their eyes and acknowledge the harrowing reality of sex trafficking for women worldwide. The project was intense, exhausting, and personally challenging, as it made me confront the depths of depravity that exist in the world.

The campaign garnered national (and even some global) media attention, and it resonated with people on a level that I didn’t anticipate. I’m extremely proud of that campaign and the impact it had.

6. What are you most excited about right now, in or outside of STEM?

I’ve finally started recording a podcast with my sister @secretlifeofcode on all things sex, relationships, life, feelings, etc., and I love it so far. We’ve been talking about doing it for years, as we’re very open and adore having these introspective, messy conversations, and finally, we’re taking action. It’s still to be released (we’re working on it, so watch this space @sammysueslater, but I’m so excited to see how this project unfolds.

7. What is your favorite source of inspiration?

Dancing. I feel energized and alive when I dance.

Lorraine McGinty (she/her)

Professor Lorraine McGinty (she/her) carried out her PhD work in the School of Computer Science at University College Dublin (UCD) in the area of personalized route planning (using collaborative data). Since 2003, she has been an academic member of staff (joining only four female academic staff at that time). Much of her research has concentrated on development of personalization techniques in a variety of real-world user domains.

In her spare time, she enjoys the outdoors, eating out, music, reading, and comedy. Her priorities in life are her 18-month-old son and her husband. As a family, they enjoy frequent trips to the West of Ireland.

1. Where’s your hometown?

Achill Island, off the west coast of Ireland.

2. How did you get into STEM?

I grew up in a very rural community with enviable student/teacher ratios and an extraordinary emphasis on the importance of going to University. Science subjects and mathematics were strong areas for me in my second-level education program, which saw me moving to Dublin in 1994 to complete a BSc in Science. At that point in time, I had never even turned on a computer before! Computer Science was one of the areas I had the opportunity to specialize in for the fourth year of my degree program. It was a very exciting time to be studying the subject as the World Wide Web was at a very early stage, in its infancy. I was fascinated by the possibilities that seemed likely with this new “information age”. In fact, much of my early research centered on developing content-based, collaborative, and hybrid recommendation algorithms, which were very similar to many that everyday people engage with daily for activities such as online shopping, entertainment, and dating.

3. What is a piece of advice that you have found especially useful?

If you think you can, or if you think you can’t, you are right!

4. What’s a challenge you’ve faced, and how did you deal with it?

I’m still trying to deal with it! I recently became a mum for the first time in my 40’s and am keen to continue my career. While I am very fortunate that my employer is very considerate of staff returning back to work after maternity leave, I will admit it’s exhausting and pretty challenging at times to keep all of the plates spinning. I know I’m not alone, and many others have traveled this journey and survived. I take comfort in this! I have such respect and admiration of single parents and parents of multiple children who manage to continue full-time work. Luckily, I am a pretty organized individual, so with careful planning, lots of list-making, coordination, and communication, I have a system that is working well right now. ;-)

5. What’s something you’ve done that you’re really proud of?

I feel it’s a rare privilege for anybody to be afforded the opportunity to do something for their University that nobody has done before. In my case, that privilege was successfully establishing the first model of negotiated learning in our University. Our award-winning MSc in Computer Science by Negotiated Learning program has been a wonderful success, attracting hundreds of applications annually from students based worldwide seeking flexibility in the design of the curriculum they study. I was very proud to later be asked to take on the role of Director of Taught Graduate Studies with a view to restructuring our school in this area. It was a great deal of work but very enjoyable. I am especially proud of the fact that our taught graduate student numbers had reached nearly 500 at end of my term in that role, up more than 400% in a five-year period!

6. What are you most excited about right now, in or outside of STEM?

Education at post-primary level in Ireland is going through an exciting period of change, which will soon see Computer Science (CS) added to the curriculum. I feel that this move will radically change the CS graduate landscape in a variety of positive ways. For example, providing this education earlier to all post-primary students will help to squash many of the myths about what type of person can or should be a computer scientist. This, in turn, will introduce a welcome diversity into the student pool coming into our third-level programs and will also likely significantly increase the numbers of female students. Ireland’s thriving tech scene is world-renowned with many of the world’s top companies having established a base here. They are always looking for smart people to join their workforce, so it’s a really exciting time to be learning, teaching, and employing in this area.

7. What is your favorite source of inspiration?

My parents have always been an inspiration to me in life and have always encouraged me to be the best version of myself. Whenever I hit a mental block on a work task, I find that, more often than not, simply taking time out to reflect helps. I am very lucky that I can escape to go for walks along the Wild Atlantic Way when I travel from Dublin to Achill Island. I can recall quite a number of occasions where I came away feeling very inspired and mentally refreshed. It’s good for the soul!

Hannah Dobson (she/her)

Hannah Dobson (she/her) joined Enterprise Ireland in September 2016 and is responsible for advising and supporting the growth of a world class portfolio of Irish companies across the animation, VFX, production, gaming, VR/AR, and broader entertainment industries.

1. Where’s your hometown?

Dublin, Ireland

2. How did you get into STEM?

My undergraduate degree was my first real insight into STEM. I studied Marketing Innovation and Technology (MInT) at Dublin City University, a degree that is a collaboration between the DCU Business School, Faculty of Engineering and Computing, and the Faculty of Science and Health. It is designed to teach students how to bridge the innovation gap, the phase between the invention of a technology and its emergence on the market, and it was created in response to demand from the growing technology industry in Ireland.

Throughout my studies, I gained an understanding of emerging technologies and began to focus my interest on technology entrepreneurship. One of the most interesting modules for me was one we studied in our final semester called “Information Technology in Society”. It gave us insight into how innovation in technology affects our daily lives and allowed us to explore topics such as e-health, blockchain, biometrics, and AI.

3. What is a piece of advice that you have found especially useful?

Connections, connections, connections…so many of the people I’ve met in my (relatively short) career to date have been instrumental in my success. A mentor once advised me to build relationships with as many people as possible, as you never know who might be valuable to you in the future. I think we sometimes underestimate how willing people are to help if they are in a position to do so.

4. What’s a challenge you’ve faced, and how did you deal with it?

A personal challenge for me is being so far away from my home and my family. Luckily, my work takes me back to Ireland several times a year, which I am always very thankful for. In addition, the fact that the tech industry in Ireland is continuing to accelerate helps me to feel safe in the knowledge that I can continue with my current career path in Ireland when I am ready to move back across the Atlantic!

5. What are you most excited about right now, in or outside of STEM?

I’m most excited about Immersive Technologies at the moment. Working closely with the entertainment and media sector in Ireland has exposed me to the exciting growth in this area. In particular, Virtual Production has piqued my interest. In the most basic of terms, it’s a technique in which you have the ability to mix live action footage with computer graphics. With the increasing use of CG Animation/VFX in TV and Film production, Virtual Production allows the director and production team to see an almost-finished picture of what the final shot will look like.

Tzirath Perez Oteiza (she/her)

Tzirath Perez Oteiza (she/her) moved from sunny San Diego to Ireland to pursue a Bachelor’s in Computer Science. As someone who has a multicultural background, Tzirath thought it would be fun and life-changing to experience a new culture and benefit from a new education system. During her studies, Tzirath had the opportunity to complete two 7-month internships at Intel. As graduation approaches, Tzirath hopes to further her skills through a Master’s degree or Graduate position.

1. Where’s your hometown?

Queretaro, Mexico

2. How did you get into STEM?

I had recently moved to the United States, and I, fortunately, missed the deadline to sign up for electives at my high school. I say fortunately because the engineering elective was the only class with free open spots. As a result, I was introduced to different branches of engineering. In my junior year, I had a project to build a robot with certain functions with any engineering tools I had learned. I, of course, chose programming. One day, my friends asked me, “Where do you go during lunchtime? You are never around anymore”. I knew I had to pursue a coding career when I unconsciously gave up my lunch breaks to finish that coding project. Since that day, I realized that this degree would allow me to make true contributions to the world around us.

3. What is a piece of advice that you have found especially useful?

I once heard the quote, “ Be grateful for those career moves that don’t happen”. I am a firm believer that the universe has a plan for all of us, and there is always a better opportunity behind a rejection.

4. What’s a challenge you’ve faced, and how did you deal with it?

As someone who has a multicultural background, having lived in Germany, Mexico, the USA, and now Ireland, I never felt part of a single community. I dreaded the question, “So, where are you actually from?” People always expect an easy answer, so I just told them what they wanted to hear. After moving away to Ireland to pursue my Bachelor’s degree, I started exploring all the traits I had adopted from all the different cultures. I realized that it was okay to be multicultural and to be confident to tell my truth and story. I had a sudden burst of motivation and undertook many leadership positions, such as becoming a Science and Engineering Senator for the student body council. I want to represent all multicultural students who may sometimes feel they do not fit in. Together, we are stronger.

5. What’s something you’ve done that you’re really proud of?

As a woman in Computer Science, I have been made fully aware of the paucity of women entrants to the degree program and the lack of outlets for the few that are here. This inspired me to start Maynooth University Women in STEM Society, a Society that focuses on creating a safe space of expression for women and minorities in STEM. I set up a mentorship program, where the society aims to give members the confidence and skills to succeed in their careers. To spark a change, it is essential that women uplift and learn from each other.

Ilaina Khairulzaman (she/her)

Ilaina Khairulzaman (she/her) joined Sense about Science shortly after completing her research MSc in immunology from Trinity College Dublin. While doing her MSc, Ilaina was involved in many public engagement activities, including teaching teenagers laboratory techniques, competing in FameLab, and performing in Bright Club. After a year of bioinformatics research, Ilaina realized she was much more passionate about making societal impact through speaking about science than she was about doing the science.

She also has experience in social entrepreneurship, working with government bodies and corporations to help them address social challenges in novel ways. Ilaina is the head of international public engagement, training and marketing at Sense about Science. She coordinates projects across the EU, such as the Voice of Young Science Network and Evidence Matters.

1. Where’s your hometown?

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2. How did you get into STEM?

I really enjoyed science in school, especially biology. Coming from a typical Asian household, my mum pushed me into pursuing biotech, which I was really happy about! She saw I really enjoyed it and guided me into it, but I was 17, and I didn’t know what I would end up doing.

My college course in Malaysia led me to Ireland, where I met Andrew Lloyd, a lecturer in IT Carlow. He supervised my final year project and made me really interested in bioinformatics. His curiosity and his passion reignited the love I had for science when I was a child. I haven’t turned my back on science since.

3. What is a piece of advice that you have found especially useful?

My supervisor for my MSc (Cliona O’Farrelly — another amazing powerhouse!) quoted me this once, and it has stuck with me.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.”

4. What’s a challenge you’ve faced, and how did you deal with it?

I think my biggest challenge was moving to Ireland from Malaysia alone. I mean, it’s a distance of 6,000 miles. Malaysia and Ireland couldn’t be more different in terms of climate, culture, religion, accents, and people. I was also only 21. I was figuring out my life, including who and what I wanted to be. I was away from my family. It was really tough. There were times I wanted to give up and just go home, but I decided to keep pushing. I kept pushing to make friends who ended up becoming like family; to network and make connections — put myself out there and make things work for me.

In difficult times, I remembered why I left and what I wanted to achieve. I looked at it as an adventure, a chance to keep exploring and climbing.

5. What’s something you’ve done that you’re really proud of?

This one’s a professional achievement and one I thank Sense about Science for allowing me the opportunity to do. I organised an event in the Houses of the Oireachtas (which is the Irish Parliament)! We brought together people from all over Ireland, from many different backgrounds. We had a farmer, a hurler, a beekeeper, a chef, a mother, etc., whose ages ranged from 16- to 92-years-old, tell their elected representatives why evidence matters to them. They came all the way to the Oireachtas to make the case that parliamentarians and policymakers should use evidence in the policy-making process.

I’m so proud of the people who came to the Oireachtas with us, of the booklet we produced, and of the many TDs (MPs in Ireland) who attended to listen to their constituents. It truly is one of my proudest, happiest achievements.

6. What are you most excited about right now, in or outside of STEM?

I’m really excited about evaluation, does that make me sound boring? I’m in the public engagement sphere. I really want to do a PhD in measuring what impact public engagement initiatives have on the general public. I know this is a question lots of people have, and we still don’t have the answer to it because public engagement is young-ish, but I’m excited to see what the future brings!

7. What is your favorite source of inspiration?

Oh, 100% music. And also the outdoors! Nothing gets my brain going like a walk in Dublin.

8. What is your favorite book or movie?

Finding Nemo! It’s why I wanted to be a marine biologist for so long.

Fatemeh Golpayegani (she/her)

Fatemeh Golpayegani (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Computer Science, University College Dublin. She received her BSc in Computer Engineering from Alzahra University, Iran, in 2010; MSc in Software Engineering from Sharif University of Technology, Iran, in 2012; and PhD in Computer Science from Trinity College Dublin, in June 2018.

She was a postdoctoral researcher at Distributed Systems Group and Future Cities research group at Trinity College Dublin, before joining UCD in February 2019.

Her current research focus is on developing AI-based algorithms to address problems such as climate change and sustainability. She is a co-chair of women at computer science UCD where she actively promotes Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

1. Where’s your hometown?

Dublin

2. How did you get into STEM?

Going into STEM was never a question for me, the question for me was whether to pursue medical science or engineering. The harder my parents were trying to get me into medical science, the more convinced I was that I wanted to go into engineering. For me, solving complex problems, breaking them down to smaller bits, and assembling the partial solutions was a joy.

3. What is a piece of advice that you have found especially useful?

Think outside the box. As a female in STEM, we are living in a world that is designed by men for men. Living in this world and trying to fit in is an everyday challenge that requires us to think outside the box. We need to approach problems in innovative ways, and, in our own ways, think of solutions that are not common and bring ideas that represent us, as female engineers or computer scientists.

4. What’s a challenge you’ve faced, and how did you deal with it?

Being the only female in the room! And having the minority voice. In a project meeting or faculty meeting, we are always the minority. Do not be shy, and speak your mind! These are the two sentences I repeat to myself all the time.

Mudita Verma (she/her)

Mudita Verma (she/her) has been very interested in the field of computer science, particularly cyber security, since she was a child. Her father’s keen interest in the field and constant motivation helped her make the decision to pursue computer science, despite the criticism and taunts she received from others. Her talents being recognized, and scoring 100% in the subject in school also made her hopeful about her future as a computer scientist. She hopes that everyone, especially her cousins and sisters, see her as an example and pursue their interest in science, instead of resorting to traditional gendered occupations.

1. Where’s your hometown?

Delhi, India

2. How did you get into STEM?

I have always been intrigued by computers. I remember being hyped up for computer classes since 5th grade, as if that was the reason I attended school. I always used to go the extra mile and do a lot more than our assignments required, for example, instead of just making a webpage wih 2–3 features as instructed, I spent hours perfecting my skills and attempted to make a website instead using HTML. My love for the wonders of computers got me into STEM.

3. What is a piece of advice that you have found especially useful?

My father has seen the birth and evolution of computers. He has told me all about his experiences with computers of all sorts, since the very beginning. One day, he told me that when he finally had the opportunity to buy his own laptop, he purposely bought a rundown, secondhand laptop. It always had a lot of problems, and he had to invest a lot of time fixing it. He said that it was one of the best decisions he ever made, because fixing that laptop taught him everything about computers. “Hands-on learning, never complain about encountering problems. They always make you better.”

4. What’s a challenge you’ve faced, and how did you deal with it?

The biggest challenge I’m facing right now is battling depression and anxiety. My mental health is acting as a huge obstacle that’s affecting my passion and skills for coding. It is extremely tough to keep going at this moment, but I know that computer science is something that I’ve always loved and I am not gonna give up on it easily. I feel that the fact I’m still studying and facing these problems is a huge accomplishment at a personal level and a great part of my strength is due to my highly supportive parents.

5. What’s something you’ve done that you’re really proud of?

I’m proud of the project I made in my final year in school. It was a gym record management system written in C++. It was a well-written, efficient program to store detailed information about the members of a gym. I received 100-percent for it and it was praised by my then teacher.

6. What are you most excited about right now, in or outside of STEM?

I’m extremely excited about the developments in the field of Artificial Intelligence at the moment.

7. What is your favorite source of inspiration?

My parents have always been my greatest inspiration. Seeing their lives and their struggles has always motivated me to put all my heart into my work and give my best.

8. What is your favorite book or movie?

My favorite book is A Thousand Splendid Suns, and the film I love at the moment is Arrival.

Eimear Crotty (she/her)

Eimear Crotty (she/her) studied at University College Cork where she received her Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Science in 2017 with First Class Honours. She did work placement at Teamwork.com in Cork and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.

From 2017 to 2019, Eimear worked as a Site Reliability Engineer at Google. She is now pursuing a Master’s of Science in Computer Animation and Visual Effects at Bournemouth University, hoping to find out more about that tantalizing link between art and technology.

1. Where’s your hometown?

Cork.

2. How did you get into STEM?

I had wanted to study medicine for many of my school years, but two weeks before the CAO closed, I realized that my real dream was to study animation. The technical side interested me and, as a result, I decided to study Computer Science, which led me to my incredible job at Google.

3. What is a piece of advice that you have found especially useful?

Believe in your own ability.

4. What’s a challenge you’ve faced, and how did you deal with it?

My major challenge was starting to study Computer Science. It seemed that I was leaps and bounds behind everyone else; most other students in my class had years of programming experience behind them, and there I was in the lab on my first day at university asking the person beside me how to turn on the computer. (Thanks, Evan.) Although I feared that people would find out that I didn’t know much, I decided to be bold and ask questions. I knew there were other people who had the same questions as me. That choice to embrace asking questions helped me get to where I am today.

5. What’s something you’ve done that you’re really proud of?

I am so proud that I got to work at Google. It wasn’t something that I thought I could ever achieve, given my lack of programming experience before college. More specifically, I am so proud of how I handled the interviews. I managed to put my nerves behind me and have fun chats with all the engineers.

6. What are you most excited about right now, in or outside of STEM?

I am really excited about the research going into computer graphics. How can all of these ones and zeros create such beautiful images on screen? I’m diving into Vulkan and other graphics APIs to try and understand what really makes these GPUs tick.

7. What is your favorite source of inspiration?

Music. Nothing like a good session of karaoke to get the creativity flowing.

8. What is your favorite book or movie?

Favorite book: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

Favorite movie: Inside Out . (Oh, the feels.)

Liliana Pasquale (she/her)

Liliana Pasquale (she/her) is an assistant professor at University College Dublin (Ireland) and a funded investigator at Lero — the Irish Software Research Centre. She obtained her master and PhD in Computer Engineering from Politecnico di Milano (Italy). Her research focuses on engineering software and cyber-physical systems that satisfy security requirements and comply with existing data protection regulations. Liliana is actively promoting security in the university undergraduate curriculum and has developed a new module on secure software engineering currently taught at UCD.

1. Where’s your hometown?

San Severo (FG), Italy.

2. How did you get into STEM?

It was quite accidental. :-) Although I have always liked computers and technologies, I felt it was not something for “women”. I was studying to obtain a high school diploma from a Teacher Training School in my hometown in the South of Italy. One day, my English teacher told my mother I could study engineering, in her opinion. That planted a seed in my mind and gave me some confidence to pursue a career in Computer Engineering.

3. What is a piece of advice that you have found especially useful?

“Never a failure, always a lesson”: everyone will experience more failures than successes. However, if things don’t work as planned, it is important not to fill your mind with negative thoughts and not to lower your self-esteem. Instead, it is important to think about what aspects of your behavior or of your work style need to improve and draft a plan with concrete actions that you can take to achieve your goals. Success will come!

4. What’s a challenge you’ve faced, and how did you deal with it?

During my PhD, I found it very hard to find a research topic and write my first research papers autonomously. At the time, I also did not have a lot of self-esteem, because I thought I was not able to pursue a career in research.

What really helped me was to avoid comparing myself against other more successful PhD students. I was also very consistent, and I worked hard every day with a clear plan.

One of the first papers that I published is now my most cited paper.

5. What’s something you’ve done that you’re really proud of?

Supervising my first PhD student, who is now graduating.

I believe being a university lecturer gives us tremendous power to have an impact on students, for example, by motivating them to pursue a particular career path or simply influencing their way of thinking. In this line, I am also very proud to supervise 2 Final Year Projects aimed at using gamification to reduce plastic consumption and carbon footprints.

6. What are you most excited about right now, in or outside of STEM?

Something I am very excited about is Robot dexterity, i.e. the capability of robots to self-train to handle physical objects in the real world (https://openai.com/blog/learning-dexterity/).

This will tremendously increase the number of tasks that robots can handle autonomously in the near future.

7. What is your favorite source of inspiration?

I know this may sound like an unusual answer… Listening to rap music and Rihanna are huge inspirations for me.

8. What is your favorite book or movie?

Book: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.

Rachel Slater (she/her)

Rachel Slater (she/her) is a Software Engineer at Microsoft. She has a Master’s in Computer Science from University College London. She grew up in Ireland and currently lives in Vancouver, Canada. Years after studying Medicinal Chemistry at Trinity College Dublin, she went through many twists and turns that led her to discover Computer Science. When she’s not coding, she’s hiking Canada’s incredible mountains and/or drinking too much red wine. She posts about everything in between at @secretlifeofcode.

1. Where’s your hometown?

County Donegal, Ireland.

2. How did you get into STEM?

Science and Math have always been my thing. Growing up, my dad (i.e. hero) was a marine biologist, and he embodied everything I looked up to and wanted to be. I loved everything logical that my perfectionist, OCD brain could derive from first principles.

When it was time to apply to schools, I chose to study Medicinal Chemistry, as I thought it would be cool to learn how drugs and medications are developed. I didn’t know what Computer Science was back then and had zero exposure to programming. This is one contributing reason why seeing coding classes being taught in elementary and middle schools now makes my heart happy.

3. What is a piece of advice that you have found especially useful?

Know when to quit, life is too short. A wrong turn/screw-up won’t define you, it’ll just make your story more interesting.

4. What’s a challenge you’ve faced, and how did you deal with it?

Going back to “square one” in my mid-20's wasn’t the plan I’d made for myself. And every aspect of it was a challenge. At 23, I started working for a small tech company in Ireland as a Product Manager (for which I had none of the required skills), because my coffee shop job wasn’t paying the bills. It was there that I first observed people (guys) coding, and I was intrigued. I started investigating and was soon trying to teach myself to code at night, after my 9–5.

I left that job after 2 years, when I got the chance to attend a coding bootcamp in San Francisco. I jumped in head-first with zero preparation. After getting pretty much straight A’s my whole life, it was my first experience of being bottom of the class and struggling desperately. I’d given up all I knew in order to be there (quit my job, moved out of my apartment, left Ireland and all of my family and friends), so it was not an option to not “get it”. I worked my ass off and had amazing friends who helped me immensely. After failing to get a visa to stay in the US, I moved back home, into my Dad’s place, to figure out what to do next.

5. What’s something you’ve done that you’re really proud of?

It’s weird, but my “proud moment” is the same as my challenge — being unafraid to start all over again. I rejected the traditional notions of age, stability, linear growth, and comfort, and I just kept trying new things on for size until I found what I love.

What genuinely scares me is time passing and me not noticing or making anything of it. Figuring out that programming was my thing when I was 25 and not knowing if I would be good or successful at it, or even be “accepted” given the non-traditional path I took, was scary. Taking out loans to pay for going back to school was scary. I’m proud that I felt the fear and did everything despite it. Getting a job at Microsoft was beyond even my expectations. I love the work that I do here, and being able to code makes me feel powerful, in control, in the zone, lost in the problem.

I’m tired of being told that all female engineers experience “imposter syndrome”. Despite having an atypical path into engineering, I think all of my past experiences have shaped the way that I think about problems, the way I communicate my ideas, and the way that I write code. I’ve already proved myself.

6. What are you most excited about right now, in or outside of STEM?

STEM-related — the application of AI/ML to healthcare & medicine.

Personal excitement — I’m starting a podcast with my sister (@sammysueslater) — everything career, feminism, sex and relationships…and lots of self-deprecating lol’s.

7. What is your favorite source of inspiration?

Nature and solitude. I get my energy from quiet reflection. During those times, I read, listen to music and podcasts, tune into my environment, and think about the problems that I care about and want to solve.

8. What is your favorite book or movie?

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanith is my long-term fave, and, most recently, Lifespan by David A. Sinclair.

Vanshika Dhyani (she/her)

Vanshika Dhyani (she/her) is your average 20-year-old, who believes that LinkedIn in the best app out there. Okay, maybe she is not your average 20-year-old. She spends her time collecting stories from books, TV shows, and people. She likes to read and write for her college newspaper. She enjoys reading about history of science and dreaming of becoming a pilot. But most of all, she loves physics. People who know her say that they always knew she was meant to pursue the study of the Universe. Her parents, however, still believe that she should become a banker, like them.

Vanshika has different plans. She has got it all planned out, with 2 more years to finish her Bachelor’s before enrolling in the MSc space science program offered by UCD, almost immediately. And then she will look for a job in mission control.

1. Where’s your hometown?

I’m from Bangalore, India

2. How did you get into STEM?

It was always meant to be STEM, and I never even thought about pursuing any other subject. When I was three years old, I made my first acquaintance with Newton. My dad read out his 3 laws from a space book we were reading-a book we’d read every night-and he explained them to me. I thought the third one was hilarious: “every action has an equal and opposite reaction.” My dad said, “For example, if you slap someone, they will slap you back,” and I thought that was the funniest thing in the whole universe. Little did I know, my dad had just introduced me to a field of science that would become a lifelong obsession.

3. What is a piece of advice that you have found especially useful?

If it’s meant to be, it will be. I listen to Bebe Rexha’s song on repeat, and it keeps me going.

4. What’s a challenge you’ve faced, and how did you deal with it?

I think moving to another country at 18 years old was a giant leap for me. Almost everyone wanted me to stay back in India and do my Bachelor’s, including my mom. My dad was really supportive of my decision and believed in me right from the start.

5. What’s something you’ve done that you’re really proud of?

Earlier this year, I wrote an email to Donna Strickland, the 2018 Physics Nobel Laureate. (She is only the 3rd female to be awarded this prize.)

Donna has been my inspiration for years, and in the email, I told her how thankful I was for her contribution to the field. I also asked her for an internship. Even though I did not get an internship out of it, I did get a reply that said that she thought my email was “the most entertaining approach to a job request,” which was more than anything I could ask for.

6. What are you most excited about right now, in or outside of STEM?

I missed the moon landing, but I’m really looking forward to seeing humans step on Mars in real time.

7. What is your favorite source of inspiration?

Definitely the Nobel Prizes. I’ve been obsessed with them since I was little. I love learning about the laureates and how they came upon their discoveries. I watch the ceremony live, and it’s what I look forward to, every year. It’s like watching the Oscars for science.

8. What is your favorite book or movie?

My favorite movie is 3 Idiots, which is a Hindi movie about three friends and their time at college. I remember watching it in the theater in 2009, when I was only 9 years old, and over the next decade I would watch it whenever I needed motivation or comfort.

Jennifer Petoff (she/her)

Jennifer Petoff (she/her) has had a wide range of career experiences at Google and beyond. She considers herself a poster child for non-traditional careers for scientists. Jennifer is currently working in Dublin, Ireland, as a Senior Program Manager for the Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) team. She leads the SRE EDU program globally and is one of the co-editors of Google’s bestselling book Site Reliability Engineering: How Google Runs Production Systems.

Jennifer joined Google after spending eight years in the chemical industry. Her first six years were spent at the lab bench in Research and Development at Union Carbide Corporation and the Rohm and Haas Company, where she was credited as an inventor on eight patents. Jennifer went on to manage the MBA and PhD campus recruiting and university relations programs at Rohm and Haas. Jennifer holds a PhD in Chemistry from Stanford University and a BS in Chemistry and a BA in Psychology from the University of Rochester.

Jennifer was a volunteer Career Consultant for the American Chemical Society and regularly conducted PhD resume reviews and mock interviews. She has written a number of articles on effective job search strategies. Outside of work, Jennifer enjoys domestic and international travel, urban walks (she walks over 1,000 miles a year), and writing posts for her part-time travel blog Sidewalk Safari.

1. Where’s your hometown?

Buffalo, New York, USA. (But I’ve been living in Ireland for almost 10 years now.)

2. How did you get into STEM?

I love a good challenge. In high school, I found myself gravitating towards the sciences and, in particular, chemistry, because I was good at it. I recall people saying to me, “I always hated chemistry, it was my worst subject!” I went into chemistry simply because I found it super interesting, and it made me feel special. I was good at something that not everyone else is. I loved something that people tended to shy away from.

3. What is a piece of advice that you have found especially useful?

“No Opportunity Wasted.”

Phil Keoghan, host of The Amazing Race, wrote a book by this title. I wouldn’t be where I am today without making this my mantra. I’ve always been willing to take a risk and try something new even when it wasn’t the traditional or safe option. For example, I was a senior research scientist at the Rohm and Haas company making emulsion polymers that went into products like paint, adhesives, and personal care products. At the same time, I was a volunteer for campus recruiting. I got to go back to Stanford a few times a year, talk about the work that I was doing, and try to get people excited about working for Rohm and Haas. After doing that for a while, I found I was spending more and more time traveling to different universities and working with faculty as part of our technical community organization. Because of these volunteer commitments, I was in the right place at the right time and was offered the opportunity to transition to HR full time and lead University Relations for PhD programs for Rohm and Haas. It was a career transition I never imagined for myself, but I realized it was aligned with things I loved and thought it was totally worth giving it a shot. I didn’t want to waste the opportunity to learn something new and move in a different direction.

Fast forward two years later. Google found me on LinkedIn, and a recruiter reached out because of my experience leading university programs. The timing was terrible: my husband had just changed jobs, and we were in the process of moving from one part of Philadelphia to another. I almost turned down the request for a call, but then I remembered “no opportunity wasted” and figured what harm can there be in having a conversation. That call ended up changing my career trajectory, since it led to me leaving chemistry behind for good (at the least the day-to-day lab bench part of it) and moving to Google 13 years ago.

4. What’s a challenge you’ve faced, and how did you deal with it?

I remember being super excited about studying science when I was in high school. I vividly remember telling my high school chemistry teacher that I was planning to major in chemistry when I got to college. She literally *laughed out loud* and said, “You don’t have the patience to study chemistry.” I could have taken that to heart and lost my enthusiasm or doubted myself, but instead, I used that moment for inner strength. “I’ll show her!” I thought.

Not only did I go on to major in chemistry, but I completed a PhD in chemistry, and that grounding in STEM has proven to be an amazing foundation for my career. I may not be actively working in the lab, or even in the chemical industry anymore, but STEM gave me the building blocks that I could transfer across a huge range of roles and industries. Applying the scientific method, drawing conclusions and defending ideas with data, perseverance (90+% of what you try in research doesn’t work), being a careful observer, and learning how to troubleshoot a vast array of situations are all foundational skills that I use every day in my job as a program manager in tech.

5. What’s something you’ve done that you’re really proud of?

I’m proud of what I’ve done to promote Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) in Ireland. There are actually two things that I’m really proud of. The first is the work that I do as a 20% project to build skills, raise awareness, and encourage students pursuing a degree in Computer Science or a related field at a 3rd level institution (uni or IT) in Ireland to apply for internships and full time roles at Google. Before we started the program, we didn’t get a ton of applications and didn’t hire a lot of interns from schools in Ireland into SRE, and now we do!

I’m also super proud to be a co-editor of the SRE Book. The book got its start here in Ireland with 2 of the 4 editors based here in Dublin. We published the book with O’Reilly in 2016, and it became a bestseller. The SRE Book represents contributions from over 70 people representing over 500 years of Google production experience. This is, by far, the coolest project that I’ve worked on in my career.

6. What are you most excited about right now, in or outside of STEM?

I absolutely love to travel and experience new places. I draw great energy from novel experiences. Living in Dublin, there are so many amazing places to explore in Ireland and beyond. I’m also super excited about sharing these experiences with others on my blog (Sidewalk Safari) and through the photos that I post on Instagram.

7. What is your favorite book or movie?

My favorite book is Getting Things Done by David Allen. This book took me from being a disorganized mess and a ball of stress to being an organizational and productivity ninja. People often underestimate the power of the simple things in advancing their careers. For example, doing what you say you’re going to do when you say you’ll do it and replying to emails in a timely manner; these small things build trust and credibility. Who gets the new and exciting projects? Is it the person where emails and communication tend to go into a black hole? No. The best opportunities go to those who get things done. Getting Things Done gives you an amazing system to stay organized and ensure nothing falls through the cracks. Maximize productivity while minimizing stress.

Eleni Mangina (she/her)

Professor Eleni Mangina (she/her) carried out her PhD work at the University of Strathclyde (UK), Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, working on Agent-based applications for intelligent data interpretation. She holds an MSc in Artificial Intelligence from the Department of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Edinburgh in the UK and an MSc in Agricultural Science from Agricultural University of Athens in Greece.

In 2002, she joined the School of Computer Science at University College Dublin, Ireland. Eleni Mangina is guided by research integrity and persistence. Her lab operates at the intersection between applied Artificial Intelligence (VR/AR; Data Analytics; UAVs; Information Systems) and a portfolio development within interdisciplinary applications (i.e. Engineering and Educational Systems with XR). Eleni moved to Scotland from Greece in 1997 and then to Ireland in 2002. She is currently the Deputy Vice Principal (International) within the UCD College of Science, and she enjoys international travel in Asia and North America. She is the Chair of Athena SWAN for gender equality application for the School of Computer Science. In her free time, she enjoys playing with her three kids, running with her husband, flying her drone, baking, and knitting.

1. Where’s your hometown?

Dublin

2. How did you get into STEM?

I grew up in a family with agricultural business. Being the first grandchild to go to University, it was unavoidable to study Agricultural Science. Through the 5 years of my first degree at the Agricultural University of Athens, I was fascinated by the impact Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science can have on our lives. I have experienced the start of the WWW and the start of Object-Oriented Programming. Over the last 24 years since my graduation in Athens (1996), I have seen the evolution of AI and the great contribution to our environment. I am still connected at heart with agriculture, and I love it when I fly my drone over my vineyard in Greece.

3. What is a piece of advice that you have found especially useful?

“Be in control and keep your expectations high on your own achievement but low on other people’s so that you will not get disappointed”. It helped a lot for my leadership skills.

4. What’s a challenge you’ve faced, and how did you deal with it?

I have been working in a male-dominated area and environment since 2002. As a female, I have crafted my meaning of persistence that involves both courage and compassion, along with research integrity and authenticity. After the period of 3 consecutive maternity leaves (the first one in my School), I was challenged to reinvent myself, as I had to be compared to male colleagues that had never taken a career break. I decided to do what I truly loved and what inspired me, so I focused on training in robotics and emerging technologies, which has seen extraordinary outcomes in the last 5 years in my teaching and research portfolio. Looking back, it was a challenge, but choosing to do what I love doing was not a struggle.

5. What’s something you’ve done that you’re really proud of?

I have led to completion the European-funded project AHA (AdHd Augmented) that delivered an Augmented Reality (AR) solution for an existing online literacy program, which integrated a set of specific technologies and supported interactive educational content, services, assessment, and feedback. This project is the first of its kind to assess and quantify the impact of emerging technologies (AR) for educational digital tools and received the Educational Award 2020 in Ireland for Best Research project. There are 509,652 children enrolled in 3,305 primary schools in Ireland, and 3–5% have ADHD. Within this pilot, 117 students diagnosed with ADHD (4th — 5th class) participated. I believe a positive change on a kid’s life will have tremendous positive impact on societies in the future. We need to invest more towards the younger generation (both time and money).

6. What are you most excited about right now, in or outside of STEM?

I am excited leading the ARETE project, funded from Horizon 2020, aiming to support the pan-European interactive technologies effort, both in industry and academia, through the multi-user interactions within AR technologies evaluated in education, in both professional and private contexts. The authoring tools used within ARETE, and the provision of access of the Augmented Reality (AR) content developed for the broader community of users within the EU, will increase the European innovation capacity in AR. Through systematic application of human-centered design approaches, ARETE will deliver highly usable, useful, and desirable AR technologies and contents, leading to a wider uptake and further stimulation of their creative usage.

7. What is your favorite source of inspiration?

My main source of inspiration is travelling, as I meet new people and discover new ideas. The more I travel around the world, the more I expand my comfort zone.

8. What is your favorite book or movie?

Favorite Book: Tipping Point : How Little Things can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell

Favourite Movie: Tootsie (1982)