“It can’t be. Maybe you should be a plumber or electrician.”
Those words tumbled out of the school guidance counselor’s mouth when Lauren Loredo’s high school career aptitude test indicated she should be a civil or electrical engineer.
The counselor’s reaction was just the latest hurdle Lauren had to overcome – fighting perceptions that being born to Mexican parents with English as a second language couldn’t strive for science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) careers.
Lauren, a customer quality engineer in our High Volume Analog & Logic (HVAL) integrated power group, became the first person to attend college in her family. She started her university career at a community college near San Antonio. But when she attended a Texas A&M University football game in College Station, she was captivated by the culture and other students. She called her mother energized after the final whistle blew.
“This is where I am supposed to be!” Lauren said.
Knowing her close-knit Hispanic family would hesitate to let her leave home for school, she told them her intended major – chemical engineering – was not offered at the local San Antonio college. Her family acquiesced, and Lauren graduated three years later with an engineering degree and a job with a telecommunications company in Dallas, later joining our TI family.
“I don’t blame my counselor at all,” said Lauren. “I truly believe that what’s meant to be will be. I still got to where I am today.”
Leading Unidos
Now, Lauren is chair of Unidos, our internal diversity network initiative for Hispanics and Latinas. As part of her work with Unidos, Lauren volunteers with Mi Escuelita, a United Way agency our company connected with more than 30 years ago. Mi Escuelita helps impoverished preschoolers who speak English as a second language – children who remind Lauren a lot of herself growing up. Lauren and others with Unidos create hands-on activities to ignite an interest in STEM.
“We do everything from learning about magnetism with magnets and metal objects in sand to teaching them about static electricity with balloons and their hair,” Lauren said. “Making STEM fun and engaging helps these kids understand what’s possible.”
Lauren’s work with Unidos also extends to volunteering with the Trinity River Mission where they engage in similar activities for kids ages 6-to-12. She shares with them statistics showing the increase in income with a degree in engineering, math or science fields compared to a general college degree or high school diploma. She said it’s really important to emphasize to the kids that if they are struggling in math and science, it doesn’t mean they can’t or shouldn’t be a doctor, engineer or anything they want to be. It just means they have to work harder.
“At this age, kids are far more impressionable,” Lauren said. “When I tell them my story about growing up just like them, and they see my face looks just like theirs, I help show them what is truly possible.”
Mi Escuelita preschoolers pose as engineers for the day in TI lab coats, smocks and goggles.
It takes a family – and a mentor
Joining Lauren in Unidos and efforts in the Dallas-area Latinas STEM education is Kimberly Gonzales, a digital content engineer for our Educational Technology group. She is the community involvement chair for Unidos and plans all the events with Mi Escuelita, including a recent science experiment day. The first in her family to graduate from college, her mother Martha, an assistant to Education Technology president, was passionate about engaging Kimberly and her two sisters in STEM. Because of Martha’s engagement with continuous learning and access to engineers at TI, she helped shepherd her daughters into engineering educations and careers. In fact, when the The Dallas Morning Newsshared their story, a young Latino and his mother emerged asking Kimberly and Martha for information. He mentioned that his dream was to one day work at a company like TI.
“He reached out to me, which I thought was great,” Kimberly said. “He started at a community college and now is at the University of Texas at Dallas pursuing computer science engineering. I send him TI internship opportunities when I’m able and provide resume assistance.”
Inspirations to many, Kimberly and Martha often encourage young Latinos and Latinas to pursue STEM educations. Kimberly is the director of marketing for the national Latinas in STEM organization, where she helps organize events and manages social media. Meanwhile, Martha finds Spanish articles and information related to Latinas in STEM for Kimberly to share on social-media channels.
Kimberly routinely appears in the community to speak to fellow Latinas in high school and college. Recently, Kimberly and her mother hosted break-out sessions at “Latina Day,” part of Hispanic Engineering, Science and Technology (HESTEC) Week at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
“My mom actually went to Latina Day at HESTEC to support the TI team that was presenting about 11 years ago when I was still in high school,” Kimberly said. “I was really hesitant to listen to my mother, since she did not go to college nor was she an engineer. She solved that problem by asking a TI engineer to serve as my mentor at the end of high school, when I needed guidance for my college applications.”
Former TIer Maribel Mendoza, a chemical engineer and MIT graduate, was happy to serve as Kimberly’s mentor.
“Kimberly is an amazing person, and she takes anything she’s working on and completely runs with it,” said Maribel. “It’s been a really rewarding experience to see her go through high school, graduate from MIT and join TI.”
Maribel tells Latinas considering STEM careers to keep their options open. STEM careers open many doors. They present excellent problem-solving opportunities. Maribel also encourages students to ask questions, reach out for guidance and shadow a mentor.
Mi Escuelita students check out a robot driven by the TI-Nspire App for IPad.
When Kimberly is done showing so many cool examples of what engineers can do, students often tell her that the presentation influenced their education paths.
“I tell the kids, ‘Join me. It’s lonely, here,’” Kimberly said. “Fewer than 2 percent of engineers are Latinas. I’d love to have them in the room with me one day – and at TI.”
Surprisingly, the biggest barrier for young Latinas can sometimes be their worried parents. Sending daughters away to school is daunting for families, and it’s important that they have advice and encouragement. Kimberly often brings her mother, who is fluent in Spanish, to these events. Martha has worked for our company for more than 18 years and learned a lot about shepherding her three daughters through STEM educations to college degrees and successful careers.
“Many of these Latinas’ parents didn’t speak English,” said Martha. “I was happy to be able to encourage them and give them my lessons learned along the way.”
Tips from Martha
Martha’s tips for encouraging young Latinas and their families to pursue technical educations and degrees include:
- Find mentors, teachers or counselors your children will listen to. It’s oftentimes not you.
- Always look for information about college admittance and application processes, testing and timelines. Don’t let your child navigate that alone.
- Find the SAT testing dates and help create a calendar with these and other important dates. Ensure your children have enough time to study for the SAT, coupled with good meals and sleep.
- Begin looking as early as possible at financial-aid information. It looks scary, but the more you know about scholarships and grants, the better off you will be.
- Dream big. Private schools have more money than public schools, and many of them will cover all financial aid when a student is admitted.
- Prepare your daughter to go away to college. It’s easy to be protective, wanting to keep her home until marriage, but they will be responsible and come back with a college degree one day.
“TI was a huge help and still is for me,” Martha said. “I received the information to discover a world of opportunities, and I just want to share these opportunities with others.”