STEM is for all and YOU have a place here.
Hey there!
My name is Katishna and like you I have a love for technology. Let me tell you a bit about myself. I’m currently a Manager of Instructional Design with Verizon. Well, what does that mean and how is it a tech position? Glad you asked. In my role, I design, develop and project manage technical training. One of the things I’m well known for in my role is the translation of technical content to what I like to call human speak. This helps others as they learn.
You may wonder how I got to this position, well in high school I was signed up for a STEM organization that guided me towards my Electrical Engineering Technology degree. Let’s be honest I was told to sign up. This then led me to an internship in telecommunications, then to a full-time position designing fiber networks and to so much more. What I do now some 20 years later relates to training on how our telecommunications networks are designed and work.
You see every opportunity leads you to the next step. And though sometimes those steps do not make sense and may not seem like they are moving us in the direction that we want to go, they are always on time. So, my decision to talk in high school English that led to an essay competition entry; my decision to pick one of the 9 Engineering programs I was accepted to; my decision to learn and absorb as much as I could – they all led me here.
As a black woman in technology, it is hard. The path, though not easy is worth it, just look at my story. There were days I definitely felt like moving on but I always thought what about the young women or men coming behind me, what will they see? So I got a mentor, I relied on my family for strength and I proved those wrong who said this was not my place. And now, I have a place at the table.
So, I say – do the hard things! Be who you want to be, and learn what you want to learn. STEM is for all and YOU have a place here. Know that the roles you anticipate will not be technology could just be that position that is and needs a TechDiva like you!