Audrey Nelson

Girlstart’s Women in STEM weekly series highlights various women who are making a difference in STEM. Be inspired as these incredible women describe how they became interested in their field, provide insight into a day in the life, and share learnings from their experiences.

Audrey Nelson
Security Compliance Program Manager @ Dell Technologies

Audrey has been interested in STEM since a young age, and has since had a strong career in security technology. She is joining our blog today to share her story in hopes of encouraging more girls to follow their passions, especially in STEM.

What sparked your interest and made you want to volunteer with Girlstart?
STEM, as a term, has been around for ~20 years now; and yet, many young girls are still growing up without knowing or being encouraged to pursue knowledge and careers beyond traditional gender norms. I love that one of Girlstart’s goals is “to be the national leader in designing and implementing innovative, high quality informal STEM education programs that inspire girls to transform our world”. To have a national organization, who partners with STEM companies and integrates in local school programs, while also offering camps and at home activities, is a tremendous feat — all of that is just amazing, and I really admire and support what Girlstart is doing.

How did you become interested in STEM as a whole?
My dad has always been interested in computers and technology, which influenced me a TON as a kid. Growing up the 90’s, technology was changing and advancing at a rapid pace. And while we definitely couldn’t afford upgrading with every technological advancement, that didn’t stop my dad from keeping up-to-date on all the latest capabilities for microprocessors, storage hardware and SSD’s, RAM speed, etc. And bear in mind, this was when breaking news was still read in physical newspapers, Facebook newsfeeds didn’t yet exist, and Ask Jeeves and AOL were the preferred search method over a very young Google. Information was not heavily pushed out to the general public, especially very technical news, so those who wanted to know about technology advancements really had to search for it.

But while my dad could have let his interest be his own thing, he chose to bring my brother and I along for the journey. Computers and technology were more than a hobby to him; he really wanted us to understand what these advancements meant to us as consumers, and how technology would continue to grow and change over the next century. Needless to say, we were heavily interested in technology by the time we became adults, and now my brother is a computer engineer, while I’m explaining robotics process automation (RPA) capabilities and system processing to internal and external stakeholders at Dell.

What has your career trajectory looked like?
In college, I majored in Business Information Systems, which simply means that I learned about how technologies and systems work together in a business environment. This was a great foundation for my first job at Ernst & Young (EY) as an Information Technology Advisory Services manager, where I helped many companies identify and remediate security, process and technology gaps. And my experiences at EY helped prepare me for my current role, where I manage one of Dell’s global security compliance programs and help internal teams meet regulatory requirements efficiently and effectively.

What would you like to tell girls who are interested in pursuing a STEM career?
Embrace all the wild and crazy ideas you have – write them down, throw them out there, and test them! And above all else, have grit and perseverance to see your ideas through to completion, if they are important to you.

Why do you think confidence in STEM is important for girls?
I’m fortunate that from a very young age, I’ve been surrounded by strong women (family members, friends, teachers) in STEM-related careers. I looked up to these women – wanted to be as smart, successful and respected as them – and they all encouraged me to follow my passion for technology. Young girls can be very impressionable, so it’s incredibly important to remind them that they are capable of doing anything they can dream of, even in the more male-dominated fields of science, technology, engineering or math. Men may have dominated these fields in history, but many women have changed and continue to change how science and technology are applied in the real-world today. Young girls need to know that their thoughts and opinions will continue to transform the world and their future.

Materials List: Inuit Starry Night at Home

We are excited for you to participate in Girlstart’s Starry Night at Home, including an Inuit Lore star show and hands-on STEM activities! Gather materials from around the house and join us on Thursday, January 7th for Starry fun.

Animal Blubber

  • Ice
  • Large bowl
  • 4 sandwich-sized plastic baggies
  • Shortening (about 1 cup)
  • Towel
  • Water

Crystal Snowflakes

  • Cup
  • Dark construction paper
  • Magnifying glass or microscope (optional)
  • Salt (any type)
  • Saucepan (optional)
  • Small paintbrush or cotton swab
  • Spoon
  • Tablespoon
  • Water

Inuksuk Landmarks

  • Bag
  • 5-10 stones

Marshmallow Igloo

  • Bowl (optional)
  • Confectioners’ sugar (1 cup – optional)
  • Paper plate
  • Pencil
  • Regular or mini marshmallows
  • Tablespoon (optional)
  • Water (optional)

Seal Pups

  • Cotton balls or pillow filling
  • Craft glue
  • 2 googly eyes
  • 6 2-inch pieces of brown or black string/yarn
  • Rubber band
  • Ruler
  • Scissors
  • Small black pom pom
  • White felt, foam, or cardstock
  • White sock

Jaime Ownby

Girlstart’s Women in STEM weekly series highlights various women who are making a difference in STEM. Be inspired as these incredible women describe how they became interested in their field, provide insight into a day in the life, and share learnings from their experiences.

Jaime Ownby
Research Field Sales Associate @ MilliporeSigma

Jamie helps the oldest chemical and pharmaceutical company in the world sell their products. She is a new volunteer with Girlstart who is excited to share her experiences in the STEM field with us on our Women in STEM blog!

Can you describe a little bit of what you do?
I sell life science products to researchers at the National Institutes of Health. Researchers need items such as chemicals, antibodies, protein detection kits, cell culture and purification products, and more to conduct their experiments. My company, MilliporeSigma, is the oldest chemical and pharmaceutical company in the world and widely recognized and respected.

When scientists experience difficulties getting the experimental results they are looking for, I help them find just what they need. I educate them about product innovations that can help them in their work. I leverage my capabilities such as my strong interpersonal communication skills to sell and my social media presence to connect with my customers. Through data analysis, I develop a plan for my account, the NIH, to meet and exceed company revenue growth targets.

Was there a specific person, program, or event in your life that led you to your STEM career?
I had an incredible high school chemistry teacher who challenged me and showed me just how much there was to learn in science. I went to college to be a Spanish teacher, but took science classes because there was so much I wanted to learn. I quickly switched my major to Chemistry. Junior year, I did an internship at the National Institutes of Health conducting a bioinformatic analysis, but I learned that sitting at a lab bench or behind a computer everyday wasn’t for me. Upon graduation, I became a high school chemistry teacher and loved it. I felt like there was still so much more science to learn myself, so after 8 years, I looked for a career change.

A coworker of mine had a friend who switched from teaching into the role I’m in now. She loved being involved in cutting-edge research and the autonomy and flexibility the career offers. Plus, she was making more than double what she had as a teacher! The best part, however, was the continual training and education she was receiving. I couldn’t have been more enticed!

I made the career switch in January 2020. Some exciting things I’ve learned is how CRISPR genome editing works and what the different types of vaccines are that a lab could be developing, which, as you could anticipate, is much needed knowledge when working with my researchers right now.

What sparked your interest and made you want to volunteer with Girlstart?
Girlstart educates young women about STEM careers, which is something I wish I knew more about when I was younger. I thought my only options were to be a doctor, scientist, or engineer.

What would you like to tell girls who are interested in pursuing a STEM career?
Your education path may get tough here and there, but don’t let one subject or one teacher deter you from a career in STEM. You may think you know all the possible STEM careers, but there are endless opportunities and if one doesn’t suit you perfectly, another may.

November 2020 Starry Night at Home: Native American Mythology

Thursday, November 5th
Featuring a Native American Mythology Star Show

Enjoy these hands-on STEM activities: