Hey folks. It’s been a whirlwind few weeks, but thought I’d take a minute to share what life has been like in academia-land.
Two weeks ago I lost my voice. Literally. Everyone always expects a great story that goes with losing your voice. Was it from screaming at a rock concert? Yelling at a sports game? If only. It was from cold weather, cramped meetings, and a weakened immune system.
This bout with laryngitis had me worried, though, because I was scheduled to give a keynote speech at the University of Maryland Women in Engineering DREAM Conference. The conference is aimed at high school students interested in STEM, with the mission to recruit, retain and advance women in engineering. This year, 500 students (in addition to parents and teachers), came to UMD to learn about science and engineering. Thankfully, my voice had partially returned. I’ve been reassured it sounded more Kathleen Turner than Gilbert Gottfried… but that might have been people trying to be nice.
What did I talk about? Mostly that it’s okay to be wrong. Failure is inherent in science and engineering, but it’s something that I’ve had a hard time accepting. (The perks of a Type A personality…) Anyway, I had a fantastic time chatting with the students. They were curious, and excited about college, and full of questions. Oh, to be young again.
But… the fun continues! Fast forward to this past weekend, where I attended the Womensphere Emerging Leaders Global Summit in New York City. The fabulous, glamorous life of an academic, right? Sort of. It was a conference focused on what things we need to do to help women become business and technology leaders. And, the view was pretty great too.
So, what did I learn from these two conferences?
- Rest assured, the future is in good hands. There are many young women (and men) who are going to be fantastic scientists and engineers. We just need to make sure they get the support and guidance needed to succeed.
- We still need to work for gender equality in leadership positions. Part of this is a pipeline issue, part of it is… well, there are a lot of hypotheses. But, we’re working on it, and change comes slowly, but surely.
And with that, my voice has finally come back, and I’m ready to speak up for the sisterhood. (yaya!)