Latest / AccessCo Leaders Career Conversations / Breaking Ceilings in Male Dominated Fields

Transcript

Breaking Ceilings in Male Dominated Fields · AccessCo Leaders Career Conversations

• Ilyne Deliquina: Hello, hello, welcome back to AccessCo Leaders Career Conversations. We are joined today by Stephanie Edwards, who is the manufacturing manager at DSM-Ferminich, along with student co-hosts from Tacony Academy Charter High School. ⁓ Steph, tell what are you guys doing at DSM-Ferminich? Steph Edwards: at DSM, DSM for Maniche overall is involved in multiple different product groups, everything ranging from perfumery beauty ⁓ to ⁓ additives that go into animal feed. And then we also have a medical division. ⁓ So here in we make strictly biomedical implants. And within that umbrella of biomedical implants, it can range from everything as ceramic implants, so things that are meant to mimic your bones. So the structure of the materials we make is meant to be a bone void filler. If you were to have some sort of injury and you would need to have that mimic your bones in surgery. We have a natural materials division. So ⁓ pig and cow, call it bovine and porcine. we actually bring those hides or bones in. So we'll treat them, remove any DNA and process them to ⁓ form factor that would be an implant for your body. And then the group that I support that I manage now ⁓ called TPU and SciHi. So TPU stands for Thermoplastic Polyurethane. But we basically make ⁓ the TPU group plastic pellets, which our customers will melt down and make into a biomedical implant. So that can range from something such as a continuous glucose monitor. So if you know any friends or family members that have diabetes, that have the sensor usually gets implanted on the back of their arm. That's an example of one. There are a few other examples, but we make that. And then we also make some polymers that go into contact lenses. Ilyne Deliquina: Super technical staff, thank you for explaining that. So what is it, if you can explain in maybe two sentences, what is it that you do as the manufacturer manager? Steph Edwards: Sure. make sure my team has everything they need to do their jobs correctly. So any support that they need, any issues that they can't fix, that's where I'll step in ⁓ either work ⁓ another group, with another department, or help them solve whatever issue and just keep everything kind of chugging along. Ilyne Deliquina: Excellent, so you are the leader of that group. Super technical, you explain a lot of things that DSM does. Now, did you always dream about doing this kind of job or getting into ⁓ Can you tell us a little bit ⁓ your journey into going into manufacturing? Steph Edwards: Mm-hmm. Okay. Yeah, no, I mean, I didn't even know what I wanted to do other than I knew. ⁓ growing up, I knew I always wanted to ⁓ a nurse. I didn't really have any example of ⁓ what wanted to be and what I wanted to do ⁓ as adult. I didn't even think I was going to end up going to college. But I from the I probably in middle school, I was just thinking until high school, like I'm going to go and just I'll I'll study nursing and that'll be a good career path. And then when I, were a lot of things that happened in my personal life at home. And then I stumbled engineering right after, right before I graduated high school. And I knew I wanted to go into engineering once I kind of learned about it. I didn't even know what an engineer did until I was like 19. ⁓ Ilyne Deliquina: Well, what a setup, Steph. You are explaining exactly why we exist as AccessCo Leaders, hearing you say you didn't have any examples, you thought you wanted to be a nurse, and you stumbled upon engineering. Well, that's why we have these conversations, that you get to inspire these students to know that there are so many different opportunities out there. And then even if they haven't decided, that we can have these conversations and help them find a path into something that is enjoyable and what they get to do. You mentioned a little bit about middle school and high school. What kept you busy outside of school? Steph Edwards: I had a lot of home life issues. I mean, I grew up in Florida ⁓ ⁓ ⁓ were split and it was pretty volatile at home. So I was moving constantly from the time I was 10 11 until I was like 19. And I I've just seen a lot of I was around so much. addiction, drugs, alcohol. were constantly moving and constantly getting kicked out or evicted of where we living. I we were homeless, living in hotel at one point when I was in high school, staying friends. So it was a mixture between a ton of home life stuff. And then I also worked in high school. So my brother and I did a ton of things to help pay some of bills. So I had three jobs when I was in high school. And I did really poorly in high school because I was always working. And then I was so tired in school because I was working so much that I would fall asleep in class. I was pretty busy working and just dealing with home stuff in high school. Ilyne Deliquina: What an incredible story Steph that even with everything that was going on in your home life and trying to balance that with being a student, you said you had three jobs, really it was four, right? Cause you were also a student and you still made it through college, became an engineer and working for DSM. And it sounds like because you're a leader that you have been successful. ⁓ in that time during high school when you were working on the different jobs and stumbling upon, to get to college and figure out engineering. ⁓ you have, what was your anchor? What held you steady? Did you have a mentor? Can you tell us a little bit about Steph Edwards: Yeah, my brother was my best friend because we had gone through so much together. I home, he was always kind of like my anchor. And then when he when he went through personal stuff as well, I was his anchor. And then, ⁓ you when I had moved around, I ⁓ a accident had met a woman then another woman that both of them became my mentors. where I like, I would not be where I am today without them. I mean, they did things like, seems simple, but like get me a calculator that I needed for school. And then they would help teach me, like tutor me in math to get me to like the level that I needed because I was so far back at that time. So the mentors are what got me here today, which is why now I'm in a place where I'm trying to mentor and help girls that were and young men who are in my. my shoes too because I know you need that especially if you don't have that at Ilyne Deliquina: Well, we love that and we thank you for being available just for this one hour for our students. Let's go ahead and jump in with our students. Max Glazman: My first question is, do you think the struggles and problems you faced along the way in your life helped push you towards becoming an engineer in the end? Steph Edwards: Yeah, I think that it was kind of like a happy accident that I ended up doing engineering. I know for a fact that despite everything I ever went through, even though I didn't know it at the time, I wouldn't take back a second of it because it gave me kind of a suit of armor that I have and a different lens on life where I no matter what you put in front of me, I'm going to get through it because I'm strong because of it. So maybe not. I know that it got me to where I need to be today and I carry it with me, you know. But I if I had picked engineering or even something else, I have been strong because of what I went through. ⁓ Ilyne Deliquina: So it sounds like you really walked through what resilience meant at an early age. Thank you for sharing that. Genevieve Poggy: would you balance your personal life from your work life? Steph Edwards: right now. ⁓ I think I'm getting better at that. used to be really bad at it. So I was, when I first graduated from school, I was working like 12 or 13 hour days just to kind of like prove myself and, ⁓ know, get to a level where I need to be. I have a really good work ethic, probably because I worked so much in high school, and throughout my life. But I realized that it's not healthy just to work because at the end of the day, if you don't have your job and all you have is like, work that's not really fun. So I'm trying to make a point now to like yesterday when I left work I left on time and I went and like walked and ran outside for an hour just to try to like do something for myself. So it's a work in progress but I think that prioritizing yourself is something I'm still learning. Ilyne Deliquina: Yeah, I think that's a life lesson, right? That we are constantly trying to balance and if it's spending time with your family or your job or higher education, we all have to find that rhythm. Steph Edwards: you Blake: Edwards throughout your life, would you say that your experience has molded you into this position or your environment? Steph Edwards: ⁓ probably a mix of both. I think sometimes people say like, ⁓ if you have, it's like learned versus environment. I think your environment can shape you because if I wasn't thrown into the fire, like when I was 10 or 11, I'd probably be a way different person than I am now. So I think that the environment that I was in kind of shaped me into who I am now. I have a gung ho attitude to like learn as much as I can and try to do the best at my job and not. never give up probably because of what I what I have gone through. Ilyne Deliquina: Great question, Blake. That's that nurture versus nature. Yeah. ⁓ Experience and environment. Steph Edwards: Yeah, that's a good question. Alana: What's something that most people don't know about your career? Steph Edwards: That's a great question. I think that, you know, even though I'm in the role that I'm in now, so I was an engineer for when I graduated school, I was an engineer at a company for four and a half years, and then I was an engineer at my current company for three and a half years. And then I was trying to climb and I wanted to knew I wanted to switch over into this other role and go into management because I really wanted to manage people. I would say that, you know, even if you see someone in a role, whether they've been in it for like, you know, five months or five years or 20 years, at least for me, I'm still learning what I want to do. And I'm still trying to see like, you know, try to learn as much as I can in this role that I've been in and then see what, what I want to do next. and I think that sometimes people have this idea, especially like around, you know, when you're in high school, people say, well, what do want to do for the rest of your life? That's a really hard question to answer, especially if you haven't experienced it yet. Sometimes when you graduate, you'll do a job and then you say, you know, I don't really like that job. I think I want to do this. And that's all part of the experience. It's learning how to do something and then being like, you know, I want to do this differently next time and go to a smaller company, a bigger company, work in R &D, work in production. So I would just say about my career, probably that I'm always just trying to like, think about what I want to do, what I like about the job, how much I can get out of it and learn and be successful in it and then think about like next steps, if that makes sense. Ilyne Deliquina: Yeah, I think that goes also back to the environment and the experience, right? ⁓ You just kind of keep your eyes ears open to the different opportunities and start investing and asking those questions. So speaking of that, just as our students are in high school and they're asking these questions, you can continue to do that when you're in your career, ⁓ finding right people, asking the right questions. So you guys are all starting this early. ⁓ Let's to Anna, your first question. Steph Edwards: Mm-hmm. Annamarie L.: My question is, you have any advice for people, specifically women, that want to go into like a STEM related field? Ilyne Deliquina: see if she's connected. Steph Edwards: Yeah, it's funny because I'm in such a male-dominated field. So I mean, I manage a team. have 16 folks under me. I'm youngest or second youngest, and I'm the only woman. And don't even think about it. I mean, it never even becomes a question. have I issues because I've been the only woman? Absolutely not. happened like I've been, I've had people say things to me when I was in school. So when I went to, ⁓ went to community college out of school, cause I put myself financially through school and I was like, I need to save money. went to Delco. ⁓ worked all throughout Delco before transferring into Drexel. And I was in one of my ⁓ classes, was Calc three. And I remember sitting down and it was 30 students and I was the only female. And I was like, my goodness. I was like, this has to change. So I started a women in STEM club. It's actually still in existence at Delco right now. I've gone back many times and like talked to some of the people that are running it and done similar talks to this with younger girls or people in college. But I encountered a ton of stuff. mean, people would deface my posters and put like women in the kitchen instead of women in STEM club. I've had people say things to me. ⁓ I think that you just have to... learn how to find your voice. That'd be my best piece of advice because when I was around like 17 until I was 24, 25, I did not have a strong voice. So when someone would say something that was disrespectful to me, I would eat it and I would just take it. And I didn't know how to say something back. And that made me feel bad because I was like, I'm just letting people do this to me. I've gone through so much and I'm going to let someone that I don't really know say something. And what I'll say is like most people don't care if you're a woman or a man. Most people. You're always going to have some people that do say something and that are disrespectful. So my biggest piece of advice is just say like learn how to find your voice. It doesn't happen overnight. But being able to be confident and speak up for yourself if someone does say something disrespectful, you can do that. I'm at a point now where, like I said, I don't really even notice that I'm the only woman. I have had people say things to me even in this role, and ⁓ just will say something in response back to it. And sometimes, let's say someone says something to you and ⁓ get flustered, which will happen to me too, and you don't know what to say in the moment. You walk away and you're thinking, my goodness, I should have said this. You can always approach a subject later and say, situation, behavior, impact. You can say, re-approach and say, hey, you this was the situation. This is how what you said made me feel. And this is the effect that it had on me. And I think that just knowing how to find your voice really, it gives you a lot more confidence in yourself too. And you can stick up for yourself. Ilyne Deliquina: That's awesome, Steph. Just those two points. great question too, is finding your voice and growing confident in that. Again, you all, I have seen you all become even more confident in communicating with our professionals throughout the school year. So you just continue to hone in on that skill. Let's go to Anaya, Steph Edwards: Thank Aniyah Garcia: Throughout your life, what is something valuable, like a valuable lesson that you have learned and how did it shape you to the person you are today? Steph Edwards: I think two things. One is, never give up. If you're strong and you have, you put your mind to something, if you're faced with something extremely difficult, whether it's, you know, your parents are going through something, you're going, suffering through abuse at home, or you have, you know, anything like a relationship issue, if you put your mind to it and say, I know this really hurts, I know this is really difficult. but I know that I will get through it, it will help you. I think that if you approach things with that mindset, you can get through anything. And the other thing that I learned too is like, if you are experiencing issues sometimes, like I suffered a lot when I was younger with like ⁓ you parents ⁓ to something that they were not or wanting, you know, someone to stop drinking or stop using drugs that were close to me and like. I'm not sure if anybody on this call is experiencing something like that, but I think one thing I learned is that it's really difficult. It was a really difficult lesson for me to realize like people will, especially when they're, you know, either hooked on something, sometimes they make a decision unless it's their decision. So no matter how badly you want somebody to be better, they kind of have to make that decision for themselves. That was a pretty difficult lesson for me to learn. personally and like not take it onto myself that it's something that I'm doing wrong and that I'm taking blame because they have a problem. Ilyne Deliquina: Right, so you learned at a young age you still have to have some boundaries, right? Like you've got to focus on yourself to a point, regardless the environment that you're in. So again, thank you. Great question. Great question. And thank you for the ⁓ vulnerable authentic response there. Veronica, Veronika Vo: Hi, I was wondering about how you started to grow your growth mindset since you talked a lot about resilience and how like you always thought about not giving up. Steph Edwards: I think it just kind of happens. At least for me, I that I was faced with so many difficult situations throughout my time Florida that it was just getting bombarded left and right. I didn't really have a choice. was either sink or swim, grow up, now. And I think I ⁓ just kind of built resiliency with time. And I don't think that you have to go through the wringer to build that mindset. I think I just did. But I think that even if you don't have those, you know, situations that are putting you into that, I think that you can probably do that on your own. But I think it just kind of happened naturally. Like you get kind of hardened by the situations. Ilyne Deliquina: I think it's those ⁓ continuous reps, right? Like you're doing the same thing, the discipline, the motivation to stay focused. So great question, Veronica. Steph Edwards: Yeah. you Max Glazman: You said you worked ⁓ jobs during school, but did you learn anything through those jobs that you still use today? Steph Edwards: Yeah, I was a pizza delivery girl and a waitress. I worked at a hospital and I worked at, has anybody heard of Publix? It's like the grocery store in Florida. Every time I go to restaurant, I bust my own table and I don't even realize I do it. And so the waitress will come by and I'll have all the plates stacked nicely. I had to clean the bathrooms too and people would make a mess in bathrooms. So I'm always trying to clean up after myself. I think probably the people side, customer service side, you can apply. Even though in engineering and managing, I'm taking people's orders, I think ⁓ you take something from every situation. Learning how to just speak to people and be polite and learn how to deal with difficult people, especially if you're in a customer service or customer facing. I worked in the mall too. You work in the mall, people can be nasty. You're a waitress, people can be mean. And so if you learn how to deal with those situations, you can apply that to work. You can apply that to your personal life. So I definitely think you can get something out of every situation, every job you've had. Ilyne Deliquina: That's a great question, Max. Max, do you have an after school job now as a senior or as a junior in high school? Max Glazman: ⁓ yeah, actually I work at a horse stables. taking care of them. ⁓ It's really fun. Steph Edwards: That's pretty cool. Ilyne Deliquina: That's awesome. Yeah, so Steph, Max is interested in becoming a veterinarian. He loves animals, obviously. I don't think I knew ⁓ that you're working after school at the horse stables. why don't you share a little bit with Steph ⁓ you plan on doing after high school? Max Glazman: ⁓ After high school, I'm planning to look more into vet stuff, like vet colleges, animals, to go into pre-vet, things like that, because I really love animals. I want to become a veterinarian when I grow up. Ilyne Deliquina: Steph, shared that you picked up, you've continued ⁓ to that discipline being a server and customer service. Can you share a little bit of ⁓ that wisdom with Max ⁓ can you apply some of that discipline to what Max is interested in? Steph Edwards: I would say, especially if you have an interest like where you're working, definitely try to talk to people. Because if you're already a place, I think asking folks, are there folks there that already work that are veterinarians or that work with veterinarians? Max Glazman: ⁓ Yeah, most definitely. I'd say, yeah. Steph Edwards: Yeah, I would say like, speak about your interests to them. Make a point to tell somebody, even if it seems like uncomfortable, just rip off the band-aid and say like, hey, ⁓ junior in high school and I'm working here because I'm really interested in becoming a vet one day. What kind of experience do you have? If you could do it over, what would you do? What's your best advice to give me to get into this? Because never know. Like you may speak to 10 people and one person has a different opportunity. or know somebody at a school that you're applying to, and you'll never know if you don't ask. So even though sometimes it's uncomfortable putting yourself out there, my best advice is like, put yourself out there, ask questions and tell people like what you want to do and it'll open a door, I guarantee it. Ilyne Deliquina: love that Steph. Just continue to be bold Max. Go out there and train those horses and you know ask the people around you how to get in. Really that's networking. Get your foot in the door there or the stable whatever it is. All right let's go to Genevieve. Steph Edwards: Yeah. Genevieve Poggy: Do you believe the obstacles that you faced in your childhood shaped you into the person you are today? Steph Edwards: Yeah, definitely. Yeah, like I said, like I wouldn't change a second of it, no matter how hard it is. And like I still ⁓ still think about things a lot. Like things will come up, something will happen. Like it'll like rip a bandaid off. It's like ripping a scab off. And I'm like, that doesn't feel good. Why do I feel why is that making me so sad or like why is that making me angry? Like those are just emotional responses to something that happens because of something you went through. Everybody has a different lens on life. And like despite all that, I mean, I wouldn't change a second. I'm grateful for every minute of it because it shaped me into the person I am today. and like I think that there's like there's beauty in that. you know, sometimes you don't know why things happen, but situations put put in front of you and you just have to kind of get through it. But Ilyne Deliquina: You're in 11th grade and you one more year in high school. Genevieve Poggy: So I mostly plan on going to college and getting my degree and first working in a hospital pretty much. But I was thinking about it and I'm more interested in NICU, so I want to be a NICU nurse. Steph Edwards: Okay. Nice. It's high pressure. That's cool. What, um, you like, you like working with like babies and like kids? Yeah, that's nice. Genevieve Poggy: Yeah. Ilyne Deliquina: So Steph. Steph, you said that you stumbled upon engineering towards the end of your high school and that kind of veered you away from being a nurse, but it sounds like you still continue to have a heart to serve people, whether it's busing your own tables and knowing what you've been through and then desiring to be a leader in company that you work for now. Can you share a little bit with Genevieve what that can look like? mean, you may not be working at the hospital or anything, but in a career ⁓ off and then deciding ⁓ go into leadership? Steph Edwards: Yeah, yeah, I definitely like I love and I know I would have loved being a nurse. I love math and science, which I didn't even know I liked in high school until had really graduated like right before I graduated. But I would have loved nursing because I love people like my mom has a ton of health issues right now and I help her like I help her all the time. I don't get grossed out by anything. And so whenever she has something medical that comes up, I'm always like, know, dressing, like changing her wounds or helping her, taking her to the hospital or whatever. So I, I, I do use the people side ⁓ with the nurturing side in my personal life. And, ⁓ think you can still be nurturing and like caring even in a manager role. it's not the same. because I'm not doing things that a nurse would do. But I still try to approach things with a caring personality. And I'll check on people, make sure they're doing OK, make sure they're having an OK day. So I think you can still use your innate skills, even if you're not doing that exact job. Ilyne Deliquina: Genevieve, do you see yourself starting off as a nurse and then continuing to rise and ⁓ being one of the leaders in a hospital? Genevieve Poggy: Yeah. Yeah, I always see myself ⁓ like as a nurse first, like going for my degree in nursing, but I'm not really sure that I would stay in the same field because I like to change things around a little bit since I like change. So I'm not sure if I would just stay in NICU the whole time, but I do see myself in a leadership role as well. Ilyne Deliquina: No, no. Steph Edwards: Mm-hmm. Ilyne Deliquina: Love hearing that, yes. Genevieve Poggy: Yeah, so I'm actually in a nursing program. ⁓ I go on Mondays and I shadow some people at the, I shadow nurses at the hospital as well. So we would like visit little kids ⁓ well. So that's where I, that's when I realized that that's what I want to do. Steph Edwards: Have you ever gone or done any volunteer work in a hospital? Okay, I was gonna say one thing I did ⁓ in Florida, you had to get like a certain amount of volunteer hours. And I had done, ⁓ had worked in a hospital. And at point, and I, ⁓ can usually, like if you go to like your local hospital, in like most cities throughout the United States, you can, they used to call them like candy stripers, like 50, 60 years ago, but it's basically just like a hospital volunteer. Ilyne Deliquina: You Steph Edwards: and you can go and register to become a volunteer. And it's similar to like the train, the program that you're doing probably, but shadowing, but like as a volunteer, you kind of like learn and see different parts of the hospital. Cause usually they'll have it where like you can work in like transporting different things, whether it's equipment. So you'll see different parts of the hospital. But kind of cool cause you can accrue and see accrue hours for volunteer service. And you're actually like, you're helping them to and you might see like a different side of the hospital. just a suggestion for anybody that's interested in anything medical. Ilyne Deliquina: Yeah. And also, as I always share with our students, there's always the business side of any of the industries you're in. So Genevieve, having that interest in nursing, you should also consider what does it take to keep this operation going and the lights turned on and the beds at a hospital. So find out more behind the scenes. So I'm excited to hear more about your journey, Genevieve. Let's go to one of our seniors, Blake. Blake: After working through three difficult and stressful fields, To best benefit your success, ⁓ would you say to focus on your strongest qualities or that of your weaker ones to build growth on and why? Steph Edwards: That's a good question. I think that focusing on your strengths ⁓ really good. Like if you and I've heard a lot of people say that like focus on what you're good at and then and do that. But I will also say ⁓ that I been doing that for a few years. Like I know that I'm good with people. I know I'm good troubleshooting equipment. I know I'm good technically, but I also think that it should be a balance of both. like learn what you're good at, like say it's math and science, like, okay, go that route, jam on through, keep going. But then also, like, it's good to be aware of your blind spots. So like, for example, for me, it's time management. So I would always say yes to things and accept more work than I do. And so was either working longer hours or like having difficulty meeting deadlines. So I think that it's important to focus on what you're good at, but also know what you need to improve on. Because now I'm trying to focus on those things with time management and change, use different tools for it, and try and prioritize things differently. And it's helping and I've gotten a lot better at it. So I think that knowing what you need to improve on and working on it is really important too. I don't think that answers your question because I kind of said do both, but I think that you should know what you're good at, but you should also try and don't be blind to what you need to improve. Ilyne Deliquina: That's awesome. Blake, take this moment. This is one of your last interviews as a senior. This is your last interview as a senior ⁓ Taconi. And I won't put you on the spot, but you did share that you're going to make a decision between Albright Newman and Temple by May. So you don't have to tell us live what you've decided or what you're leaning on, but share with Steph what your plans are after your senior year in high school. Blake: high school, I'm up towards a just a renaissance general and just slowly and slowly gathering into more fields in which I would feel most comfortable in, as well as just starting ⁓ myself ⁓ on like ends. ⁓ Just been helping. Steph Edwards: Nice. Ilyne Deliquina: Steph, do you have any encouragement for a young entrepreneur? Steph Edwards: Let's see. don't give up. Especially for something like entrepreneur, be adaptive. So if something changes, just be dynamic. If you're doing something one way in whatever it is that you want to roll out or create, whether it's a product or tool, be open to changes in the market and ask for advice. Try to get in contact with people. that have done something similar to you. And like I said to Max, like ask people for advice that have done something similar. Like what would you have done differently? What would you recommend that I do? Do you know anybody that can help to really like try to use a network? Don't try to do it alone. I have a friend, actually she's my best friend. I met her working here. She's another engineer, but she started when she graduated college, she started a company, an entrepreneurial company. and it's had its ups and downs, but she's learned a lot from it. So like she had a business that she created it ⁓ doing a lot better and like improving and then she wouldn't put as much time into it and it declined. ⁓ she's at a point now where she like wants to completely get rid of the business and she's going to start a different business. And she's learned a lot in what she did in the first one. And so I would say like, you know, Don't take any downhill as a failure either. Take it as like a learning opportunity. If something didn't go how you wanted it to go, like if obviously you want things to succeed, like try and learn from it. Don't be so hard on yourself and try and learn like, what can I do in my next step that's going to help me? How can I learn from it? So even though like it might say it might not be like a great uphill climb, like it might be like peaks and valleys, but overall you'll go up. Ilyne Deliquina: That's awesome. That's motivating for me. you, Steph. ⁓ go over to Anna. Steph Edwards: Yeah. Ilyne Deliquina: Anna, what's your next question? Annamarie L.: do you think AI is destructing or do feel like it's useful ⁓ tool in your field? Steph Edwards: my god, it's a mixed bag. Because I see some resumes that come through because I do the hiring too for my department. And like I see some resumes come through that ⁓ are like you can tell when it's generated by AI. Some people can tell some people can't. So ⁓ I say if you're completely reliant on AI to do things, you know, and you can't do it for yourself, I think In some cases, it can be detrimental. In some cases, it's really helpful. Like I've had to write litigial documents, like legal type stuff, and I don't know how to normally write that. So I would write up a prompt and then put it through AI and they'll say, like, can you help me make this more HR friendly or legal? So I think it's helpful in some cases, but I also can see where... I've seen people be hired using, you know, strictly their resume that they used ⁓ GPT and then they get in the door and they don't know what they're doing because they just used AI. So I think there's like pros and cons to it. I think that it's an easy way out if you don't know how to do something. ⁓ But I eventually like ⁓ those things to light. So I do use it sparingly, I don't use it for everything, but it's just being, you not using it as a once all, using it as like an aid I think is acceptable. Ilyne Deliquina: Absolutely. think that you, you know, we always say you've got to, you've got to know how to work those prompts, but great question, Ana. Steph Edwards: Yeah. Alana: Is there anything you would change about the actions you took in the past to get into your career? Steph Edwards: No, I don't think so. I think that no matter what you do, even if it's not... You might look back on it and say like, I wish I did this sooner. I wish I did that. But I don't really think like that. Like I think that for the most part, like I make a decision based on like whatever is in front of me, whether it's, you know, fast or slow. It's the decision I made. I can't really, I can't take it back. I can't go backwards in life. I think that I have, I don't really regret things. I'm not perfect. And I ⁓ have made probably like a ton of mistakes, but I don't regret it because I've learned from them. So I don't really regret ⁓ I've done. ⁓ I think that I've learned a lot, but it's gotten me to the point where I'm at today. You know what I mean? Ilyne Deliquina: right? Steph, you have this continuous theme. You seem like a quiet ⁓ but then you're super bold about the encouragement and the advice that you're giving those students and the decisions that you've made. Let's with Anaya, why don't you share a little bit with Steph what you plan on doing? I know that we have a note that you have an interest in psychology. Is that still something you're interested in moving towards? Aniyah Garcia: Yeah, so I wanted to take up psychology next year and then for my future because after high school I wanted to go straight to college be an advocate for kids on the spectrum. And I wanted to do like a side thing with real estate. ⁓ I've already like studying up with that one. Steph Edwards: series. That's very cool. Aniyah Garcia: Yeah. Steph Edwards: Nice. Ilyne Deliquina: Steph, do you have any encouragement for students who have multiple interests in ⁓ things that they want to do? So, Anaya is in the 10th grade, so she still has some time. Steph Edwards: would say go for it. You won't know if you, might love both and you might be able to do both and that's great. Kick more power to you. So I would just say go for it because you might start doing one of them and be like, ⁓ I wanna do this one even more or you might say I wanna do this one but change it and do something slightly different and you'll never know. It's just like with a job, you'll never know if you like it until you do it. So I would say go for it. Give it your all and like you're in 10th grade and you're already studying to do it. You might encounter other things that you like doing while you're investigating that. So, yeah, my advice is just go for it. Ilyne Deliquina: That's awesome. Anaya, you have a follow-up question for Steph? Aniyah Garcia: My question is, was there ever a difficult decision that you had to make within your workplace and how'd you to an agreement with that decision? Steph Edwards: Yeah, definitely. think on the people side of things, it's a little bit more challenging dealing with, you know, if you're an individual contributor, like say an engineer is, you're coming to work and you're kind of being given work based on whatever problems are happening around you. But it's different now as a manager because I have to, it's more dealing with people. And so like sometimes that can be challenging, especially if you have Um, you know, issues amongst the team. So I've definitely had some difficult things that I've learned and had to deal with and do. Um, but I've taken it all as a learning opportunity. Um, and I think that like knowing personally that you can give somebody as much support as they can, whether it's, you know, a person that's been with the company for, you know, 10 years or two years, whatever it is. I think that I've definitely had to make difficult decisions. I've definitely learned from them. also kind of being like, knowing what you want to do. if I do have a difficult decision, something that I've learned to do is I'll say, I'll decide what I want to do now. And I'll say, this is the decision I'm going to make. And then I'll go to my manager if I need their approval for something. I don't really need. their approval for many things, if it's something big, say like, this is my route, this is what I'm going to do. know, are you okay with it? Rather than going and asking for help, it's to tell. And I think that that's something I've learned too, especially with difficult decisions, it's healthy to ⁓ learn to make them. Ilyne Deliquina: I think, again, another life school will just continue to have to make those pros and cons decisions. So thank you for that step. Let's go back to one of our other senior on this session, Veronica. And again, you guys have something similar. Veronica is going to take some time before she steps into her next big education step ⁓ finances, like starting a whole new job. So Veronica, why you share with the staff a little bit about what your plans are after you graduate in just a few weeks. Veronika Vo: ⁓ okay, so actually interested in carpentry. That's because initially I was interested in the biochemical field, leading into like biotechnology. So hearing that you make material for implants is very interesting to me. I was wondering how did you choose this specific area of engineering rather than leading towards into ⁓ more of like biomedical field if that makes sense. Steph Edwards: Yeah. Yeah, I was really interested when I was in community college and like taking the core classes. like Calc, Chemistry, Physics, all that stuff before you declare whether you want to go like mechanical, chemical, any route you want to go. I was leaning actually more towards biomedical because I think I always had that interest in like nurturing and care and the human side of it because I wanted to study nursing. before I went into engineering. But I had a conversation with a couple that, it's really funny, like, I just, would see them at the gym together and they were both engineers. and one was biomedical and one was chemical. I asked them, again, like putting yourself out there, I just asked like, what have you guys done in your career? Like they were probably in like their 30s at the time, so they were working for like seven, eight years. And I was like, what have you guys done with your degree? What kind of things have you done? Because I didn't know anything at that point except for school. I got the advice that like, if you want to do between two, if you want to do biomedical engineering, you're kind pigeon-holed for the most part into doing something in biomedical engineering. If you do chemical engineering, that can cover a broad range ⁓ industries. So you can go into petrochemical, like you can work at a refinery, you work in a pharmaceutical company. I worked at a material science company making electronic paste for five years before coming here with a chemical engineering degree. You can work at a biomedical. ⁓ so like just spanned this whole like chemistry is everything in life and I love chemistry. But like everything is chemistry and it was that of like opened my eyes and I was like, well, if I don't want to do biomedical stuff, then I don't want to be pigeonholed. And I heard that chemical engineering was like the hardest engineering. Computer might actually be like pretty hard to. But at that time, heard ⁓ chemical engineering like the hardest and I was like, ⁓ I like Like I want to challenge. But it was a mix between that ⁓ and just knowing that my career would be more open and I'd be able to go and work in different things with a chemical engineering degree. I love chemical engineering. And you ⁓ use it in so many different fields that I think it's a really good, if anybody's thinking about engineering and wanna talk more about it, we definitely can. But ⁓ I chemical engineering. I personally think the best one, but that's because I did it. Ilyne Deliquina: Yes, I have learned through these interviews that the different engineers are very proud of their type of engineering. Speaking of that, ⁓ Steph, do you offer any internships at DSM or how, I mean, could our students who have an interest in the things that you're doing even shadow you personally? Steph Edwards: Yeah, I mean we have, so when I was in the engineering group before switching over, I managed the co-op program in engineering. That was through Drexel, ⁓ the co-ops. But we do have an internship program every summer ⁓ and I know if they've hired all the interns yet for this summer, but I can reach out to our communications person and even if it's full for this summer, we have something for, we'll have more interns for next summer. But again, like I'm at a point now where I'm trying, I do as much outreach as I can. So like I'm trying to talk to younger students and like help them so that they can grow. And I'm a part along with Scott Goldman, who you met Ilyne He and I are the leaders of the outreach committee for DSM and we're looking for like opportunities to bring people in. So I don't know if anybody is local to the area or would be local to the area, but I can talk to him and see what we can do and plan for later in the year to have people come in. Because we could probably do some kind of tour, give a production window tour. We can take you in production. But I mean, we do know someone that's not in Ilyne Deliquina: Love it. Absolutely. Yeah. Veronica, we'll hook you up too. Yeah, Veronica is a senior, so she'll miss out some of those opportunities with Tacony, but we'll take care of you, And speaking of that, Veronica, you've been with the program for at least this whole school year. I don't remember. I think you may have been with us even last year. But thinking back to that, how has this experience helped you think differently about your future or your career options? Veronika Vo: Typically after these sessions, I realize that I don't have to pick something now, although it would be great for me to know what I'm doing. I could always change ⁓ or pivot with what I already know, which is like something I didn't really know before because I always felt like I was stuck in a box. Ilyne Deliquina: That's awesome. ⁓ you are growing a unique experience for yourself. And I'm excited to hear where that And you're going to definitely, you have to stay in touch. Let's go to our next senior, Blake. ⁓ I have reflection question for you. How has this experience made you feel about yourself, your confidence, your voice, or what you believe is possible for you? And I know that you've been on a few of our sessions in the past school year. Blake: So with the past sessions, just general occupational courage as well as my belief ⁓ which that most the that I could be in are starting points matter what Ilyne Deliquina: That's right, Blake, you're our Renaissance man. So whatever you do, you'll be able to help in any other career industry. Alana, what have you picked up in our conversation with Steph ⁓ today? Jed Smith: I picked up the fact that she is a hard worker and I feel like we share that similarity I like to work hard in everything that I do whether it be ⁓ school, my I run track or just in everything that I do so I really like the fact that she's a hard worker. Ilyne Deliquina: Yeah, and I know that about you, Alana. You're going to be a force to reckon with in going into medical and having an interest in finance. ⁓ excited hear more about what you go through when we get to see you in the upcoming school years. And then let's go back to Anna. What did you pick up our conversation with Steph today? Annamarie L.: I really appreciated how vulnerable she was with us. She was very open to tell us things about herself that a lot of people won't really feel comfortable doing. So I really appreciate that she trusts us enough to open that up with us. Also, I've seen that she's very honest and she's a hustler. She's always working hard since she was younger. She had matured very quickly and she was a very hard worker and nothing was going to stop her from getting from what she wanted, which is very inspiring. And I also think also inspiring is her being female especially in like a STEM related field which is so male dominated that it's very inspiring to see that she doesn't care about any type of gender role that she's going to do whatever she wants and she doesn't care about who what people think about it. Ilyne Deliquina: Yes, and Steph, Anna is one of our creatives she plays the guitar, as you can tell she's also an encourager let's from Max Max we got to talk about the horses and your desire to ⁓ work with animals, what did you pick up and what kinds of encouragement or wisdom did you pick up from Steph Max Glazman: like Anna said about like, ⁓ her experiences and like her troubles. I think that really stuck out to me because like, she didn't get absorbed by it. She more let that be a guiding force and where she went on with life. And that like, it was something that kind of influenced her and her decision making in like careers and like what she did, but it wasn't just something like that it was engineer or whatever. It was like. she kept her values no matter where she went. And that's something that I feel like is very important, even in like any career is that if the career can hold what you value most, then that's a career you should go into. Ilyne Deliquina: Let's go Max, you were really paying attention there. Well, Steph, you heard it from the students. They definitely have absorbed and have been inspired by your story. Steph Edwards: you Yeah, thank you guys so much. I was really sweet to hear your feedback, so thank you all. Yeah, I would say my biggest message is just don't give up. High school is really tough. think it's also gotten a lot more difficult just in the last five, 10 years. You guys have to deal with so much extra stuff that a lot of people before you didn't really have to deal with. And it can be really loud, can be really noisy, it can be really confusing, but it doesn't last forever. You guys are on a really good path. Like you're taking time out of your day right now to invest in yourself and invest in your future. That shows so much because you are taking time for yourself and growing who you want to be. So. Just continue doing that. Continue asking questions. Be really curious. Don't be afraid to reach out to people. You can always reach out to me on the side, even if there's ⁓ question you had or anything. always happy to answer questions. But yeah, just continue kicking butt and just don't ever give up. If you ever have a problem, have that that you can get through anything. Ilyne Deliquina: Thank you again for joining us today in our ⁓ Access Co-Leaders Career ⁓ along with our co-hosts Max, Genevieve, Blake, ⁓ Alana, Anna, Anaya, Veronica from Tacony. ⁓ We wish our the best of luck in your next steps and we look forward to seeing the rest of you next school year.