I never set out to start a podcast, write books, or launch a newsletter. I’m an engineer. But sometimes life takes you on a different path.
The Podcast Spark
I started the podcast because I listened to Dax Shepard’s Arm Chair Expert podcast where he had people on to share their stories – it was informal and casual and I liked that. He also had his actor friends on, and when the women talked about the challenges of being in Hollywood, I heard so many parallels to what my friends and I experienced in STEM. But no one was sharing our stories. There were starting to be stories about historical women in STEM, but very few about contemporary women in STEM. Then the pandemic happened, I got furloughed from my job and found myself with time on my hands – so let’s start a podcast!
From my first couple of interviews with my engineering besties – Tami & Kerry, my podcast grew and soon I had people contacting me to be on my podcast and I met the most amazing women! I was so inspired by these women’s stories and I loved sharing them and creating community. We need our villages!
The Gaps I Saw
As the podcast continued, there were a couple of recurring themes – how do we move the needle for women in STEM? And a recurring thought entered my head: normalize women in STEM in mass media – books, movies, TV shows, etc. Why isn’t it “normal” for women to have STEM careers in the media we consume on a daily basis – not even lead characters, but minor characters. Instead of a woman being a teacher or an admin assistant (not that there’s anything wrong with those jobs), why couldn’t she be a chemist or an engineer and just be a “normal” person. Why aren’t these just our jobs and we are “normal” people?
The second theme was women changing how they acted or dressed to fit in with “the guys” when they started their careers. I heard from many women and did this myself - they went from wearing bright colorful, fun clothes and skirts to black or grey. Or they started talking about sports even if they didn’t care about it to fit in. I sewed and baked and decorated cakes when I was younger – I never talked about that at work.
Why I Write
During one of my podcast conversations – or perhaps after we quit recording, I mentioned to someone that I was thinking I’d try writing children’s books when I retire. She asked me a simple question: Why wait until you retire? So, here I am a couple years into learning the craft of writing and a completely different skill set and industry. I have since:
· Joined SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators)
· Gone to writing conferences
· Joined multiple critique groups
· Joined the 12 x 12 Challenge to write regularly
· Hired an editor for my first manuscript
I’m now getting ready to send out query letters to find an agent or publisher. All of these are things I’ve learned in just the last couple of years.
My characters will be girly – not that you can’t be a “tomboy” or be whoever you are, but I want to show girls at an early age that they can be sparkly and girly and be interested in space or rocks or glaciers or anything and still be a girl and like “girly” things. My books aren’t about careers – they are about sparking an interest in young girls and planting seeds at an early age.
And I am in the final stages of a coloring book I’m working on with my daughter. This book is based on a lot of women that have been on my podcast and it is about careers. These are all contemporary women and I want to show girls that there are women in these careers and they are real women – there will be a bio and actual picture of these women in the back of the coloring book.
If this resonates with you, here’s how you can help me keep going:
· Subscribe & share this newsletter
· Support my work on Ko-fi or PodPage Membership
· Sponsor the podcast to spotlight women in STEM
Changing the World Together
My husband asked me a couple of days ago why I’m doing this. I said it’s not to make money. It’s to change the world. And he said “Changing the world one story at a time”. It sounds like a pretentious tag line. But it’s not me changing the world. It’s US changing the world. All of us. Our community. Those of us here. Those of us in STEM. Those who support women in STEM programming or as allies.
Let’s change the world!
I’d also love to hear from you — what stories shaped your sense of what was possible when you were a kid?