By: hayden pollard
My mentor for this initiative is Stacey Slone. She is a statistician at the Markey Canter Center. I had a chance last week to sit down with her and ask her a couple questions about her career in STEM. The first question I asked her was when and why she decided to go into the STEM field. She told me that math was always her strongest subject in high school, so when she got to college, it seemed natural for her to major in math even though she wasn’t really sure what kind of career she wanted. She chose a liberal arts college so that she didn’t have to be stuck in her STEM major if she decided that was not for her. She began taking a statistics course in her junior year of college, and really enjoyed it. This was when she began considering statistics as a career, and eventually earned a minor in the field. She also did her masters work in statistics. Her college experiences had a great impact on Stacey’s choice to remain in the STEM field for her entire career.
The second question I asked my mentor was whether or not there were any individuals, experiences, or other factors that influenced her to go into the STEM field in the first place. She told me about a high school math teacher, Mrs. Ada Sue Crum, who encouraged her to pursue a math degree in college. Clearly, for Stacey and for many others, it was important to her career to have someone who acted as an advocate and who pushed her to be her best.
My third question was asking about her key success points on her way to her STEM career. She points to her mentors at Wake Forest University as some of the biggest reasons why she was successful in becoming a woman in the STEM field. Her educators, and eventually her co-workers, all pushed her to do her best and encouraged her to grow in the field. She pointed to Dr. Dave Reboussin as a particularly useful resource in her journey to becoming successful in her field. He encouraged her to work independently, but also helped her out when she needed it. Stacey’s colleagues at Wake Forest are largely responsible for her success in her field, and clearly, they never turned away just because she was a woman. Everyone woman looking to go into a STEM field needs colleagues and mentors like the ones Stacey found at Wake Forest.
The final question that I asked Stacey was whether or not she had experienced adversity in her career because she was a woman in a STEM field. She replied that she did not feel that she had ever faced adversity. She also mentioned, however, that she had never left her job in academia in order to work in the private sector. Stacey could make a larger salary in the private sector, but has never tried to leave academia because she enjoys the flexibility that it provides to her schedule. This has allowed her to raise a family. Although Stacey does not see this as adversity that she has faced, I would have to say that I do after the discussion we had in class last week. She has taken a step back and not allowed her career to grow to its fullest potential because her first priority was being a mother. I understand this choice, but I also think that there should be ways for women to have great careers and not have to be full time mothers.
I really enjoyed talking to Stacey, and all her valuable insight she included in her answers.
The second question I asked my mentor was whether or not there were any individuals, experiences, or other factors that influenced her to go into the STEM field in the first place. She told me about a high school math teacher, Mrs. Ada Sue Crum, who encouraged her to pursue a math degree in college. Clearly, for Stacey and for many others, it was important to her career to have someone who acted as an advocate and who pushed her to be her best.
My third question was asking about her key success points on her way to her STEM career. She points to her mentors at Wake Forest University as some of the biggest reasons why she was successful in becoming a woman in the STEM field. Her educators, and eventually her co-workers, all pushed her to do her best and encouraged her to grow in the field. She pointed to Dr. Dave Reboussin as a particularly useful resource in her journey to becoming successful in her field. He encouraged her to work independently, but also helped her out when she needed it. Stacey’s colleagues at Wake Forest are largely responsible for her success in her field, and clearly, they never turned away just because she was a woman. Everyone woman looking to go into a STEM field needs colleagues and mentors like the ones Stacey found at Wake Forest.
The final question that I asked Stacey was whether or not she had experienced adversity in her career because she was a woman in a STEM field. She replied that she did not feel that she had ever faced adversity. She also mentioned, however, that she had never left her job in academia in order to work in the private sector. Stacey could make a larger salary in the private sector, but has never tried to leave academia because she enjoys the flexibility that it provides to her schedule. This has allowed her to raise a family. Although Stacey does not see this as adversity that she has faced, I would have to say that I do after the discussion we had in class last week. She has taken a step back and not allowed her career to grow to its fullest potential because her first priority was being a mother. I understand this choice, but I also think that there should be ways for women to have great careers and not have to be full time mothers.
I really enjoyed talking to Stacey, and all her valuable insight she included in her answers.