September 26, 2025 • 41 mins
Meet our next guest, Maya Davis!
In this episode of All Things STEM With Ashley, we sit down with Maya Davis, a talented professional with a strong background in computer science who is now thriving as a Systems Engineer. Maya shares her inspiring STEM career journey, highlighting the challenges she overcame, the lessons she’s learned, and the strategies that helped her succeed in both engineering and technology.
From earning her degree in computer science to advancing in the systems engineering field, Maya provides valuable insight for students, early-career professionals, and anyone looking to break into STEM careers. She also discusses the importance of mentorship, professional growth, and continuous learning, offering practical tips for excelling in engineering, computer science, and tech-driven industries.
If you’re interested in learning how to build a rewarding career in STEM, computer science, or systems engineering, this video is filled with powerful advice and inspiration. Maya’s story is proof that with resilience, determination, and confidence, success in STEM is possible for anyone.
👉 Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe to All Things STEM With Ashley for more career journeys, mentorship stories, and success tips from leaders in STEM.
#stem #womeninstem #stemcareers #computerscience #systemsengineering
In this episode of All Things STEM With Ashley, we sit down with Maya Davis, a talented professional with a strong background in computer science who is now thriving as a Systems Engineer. Maya shares her inspiring STEM career journey, highlighting the challenges she overcame, the lessons she’s learned, and the strategies that helped her succeed in both engineering and technology.
From earning her degree in computer science to advancing in the systems engineering field, Maya provides valuable insight for students, early-career professionals, and anyone looking to break into STEM careers. She also discusses the importance of mentorship, professional growth, and continuous learning, offering practical tips for excelling in engineering, computer science, and tech-driven industries.
If you’re interested in learning how to build a rewarding career in STEM, computer science, or systems engineering, this video is filled with powerful advice and inspiration. Maya’s story is proof that with resilience, determination, and confidence, success in STEM is possible for anyone.
👉 Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe to All Things STEM With Ashley for more career journeys, mentorship stories, and success tips from leaders in STEM.
#stem #womeninstem #stemcareers #computerscience #systemsengineering
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Oh god, we're getting extended all right.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Hello everyone, and welcome to all Things sim with Ashley.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
I'm super excited today as we have Maya Davis joining us.
We're going to learn a little bit about her journey
and tips her success along the way.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
So let's get started.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Maya Davis, a passionate leader in STEM, combines expertise in
computer science and data science with a commitment to community service.
Born and raised in Nashville, she earned her BS and
Computer science from Tennessee State University in twenty seventeen before
launching her career in the defense industry as a systems
engineer in Florida. There she held her technical skills and
(00:53):
Aerospace and defense, earning multiple promotions. Her growing interests in
data science led her to pursue a master's in Data
and A from the University of Central Florida, which she
completed in twenty twenty two. Beyond her career, mine is
dedicated to mentorship, volunteering with Black Orlando Tech and the
National Society of Black Engineers to inspire young professionals in STEM.
(01:13):
She is a trailblazer in her field, embodies resilience, confidence,
and passion for success. So maya welcome, thank you, thank
you for joining us today. Can you tell us a
little bit about where you're from and about yourself and
then how you got interested in STEM?
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Absolutely so, as Manchanna from Nashville, Tennessee. Shortly after my
graduation with my bachelors, I moved to Orleando and that's
where I started working in the defense industry. My motivation
to get into STEM is kind of a long winded
story because it wasn't always literal for me going to college.
(01:50):
I couldn't tell you that seven years from then i'd
be graduate and pursuing.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Your career in engineering.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
Yeah, I pursued multiple things going I think my first.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Measure in college was biology.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
And you know, trying to think about what I wanted
out of a career.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
I knew that I wanted to be creative.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
I wanted to be doing something that would pursue my
passion for creativity.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
I know I.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Needed to have a lifestyle that I could afford or
afford my lifestyle because I would no longer be under
my parents. My parents care and support, and I wanted
to be independent. So being in a career that was
lucrative was very important to me. As well, and so
(02:45):
after trial and error, I think I changed my major
at least three times before I stumbled on computer science.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
And it was really my.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Mom who inspired that because I had a social media
page aged me a little bit, but.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
My space where you would.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Have the ability to customize your layouts, and I would
spend hours on doing this customization because I wanted my
layout to be as unique as possible. And really what
it was is like the fundamentals of web development or HTML.
And so that's how I started coding, and you know,
I was able to pick it up pick up HTML
(03:24):
fairly quickly, and then upon transferring into TSU, I pursued
computer science and coding was one of my strengths there,
and that's how I stumble upon the STEM career field.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
I love that it's super cool. That's great, And I
love how your.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
Mom like to go this like, oh, this could be
good for you and got to help kind of guide you.
Speaker 5 (03:48):
Yeah, I thank you appreciating that. Yes, shout out to her. Yeah, okay,
so Maya, I'm glad we got to learn how you.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Got introduced into the SIM field. Now I want to
ask did you have any role models or mentors influenced
to a longer state journey.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
Yes, I did.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
I have numerous role models, and.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
While I can't go through all of them, some people
really kind of stand out and overall in my career in.
Speaker 6 (04:16):
STEM and so one who I don't know if she
may know justin Cloud. He is an executive professional professional
at L three Harris Okay.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Now, he used to work at Lucky Martin, and he
opened the door for me and.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
A lot of other people getting into the defense industry.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
And so his way of bringing in talent go to going.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
To conferences like National Society of Black Engineers.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
I remember approaching him and.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Asked him what he did, and he was like, I'm
a system engineer and I had an internship that summer
with Dell, and one of my mentors there said that
I would make a great systems engineer just because of
my technical prowess but also my ability to communicate technical
(05:23):
things in an understandable way. And so I was like
when he said that, I was like, Oh, my mentor
said that I'd making great systems in here, whatever, And
I hit it in my resume and I got an interview.
I interviewed on the same day with one of my
best friends now.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Her name is Carrie Bass.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
Also very inspiring individual in Orlando. We interviewed on the
same day we got hired in. It started on the
same day. But anyways, Justin is continuing to do great
things in Steam.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
He's got a non profit now and it's called Level
of Brother. They're doing great things in Orlando. So he's
one of the persons that I look up to that.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
Continued to inspire me just because of his ability to
connect people, bring people into the industry and so really
great guy. And also doctor Lusia Comping young Aunible Mission
mentioned when I was at Tennessee State University, she was
the vice president of Research and Institutional Academia or institutional Advancement, and.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
She was also the chief research officer, and.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
She did a lot behind the scenes, some that I
didn't realize. I actually connected with her last year in August,
and she was one of the reasons why were able
to go to those conferences, go to the National Society
of Black Engineers conference.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
I was the vice president for two years in a row.
And so she is.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
I can't talk give her justice because her bio is
so impressive, but I will say that she is.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
A trailblazer in the in the engineering community.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
She was also the president of Texas Southern University and
she's continuing to make waves in the community.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
She has hundreds of mentees and.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
She's the one that told me that, you know, coming
in the engineering it's a lot of things that you
have to deal with.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
But she said, Maya, you could have it all. You
could have a family, you can have the career, you
can have the education. All you have to do is
do the work. But it is possible. I love that.
That's beautiful and you're doing it out. So I'm gonna
talk about along your journey. Were there any challenges you
face growing up that may pursuing a SDM career difficult
(08:11):
at all?
Speaker 4 (08:14):
There's always challenges. I mean, being an engineer in and
of itself, what are you really if you take the
engineering title away, you're a problem solver. Yeah, so every
day you come in there's a new problem to solve.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Whether it's a relational problem right and a personal problems.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
It could be a technical problem. Mainly technical problems, but
there's other problems too. Yeah, as an engineer, you have to.
Speaker 4 (08:41):
Look at things with your problem solver lens and how can.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
You fix this.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
So I will say that is a huge part. As
far as challenges, I mean, it was a challenge from
day one.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Like I said, like.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
I wasn't the person that had the best grade coming
into college. Like I had good grades, but I went
to National School, the Arts Will Mission, and of course
there's a lot of smart, brilliant people, but the focus.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Was more on the arts rather than STEM at that time.
It's more steam heavy on the air, and so I dance.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
I had a lot of fun, yeah to classes, but
it really academia.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Wasn't like the forefront.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
It was just like creativity and artistic thing got into
college and it was really a eye opener as far
as you know, am I able to do this?
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Am I able to be here?
Speaker 4 (09:49):
I missed a lot of the fundamentals, you know, so
I'm gonna have to go back and you know, really
start over. So and I wasn't the person that could
go in a class and just get it. I had
to dedicate a lot of time to really.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Make a b you know, I do over the time.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
It spent hours in the math lab, hours, you know,
just really trying to get the basics.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
And I spent a lot of time with my teachers.
Speaker 4 (10:20):
The math lab was literally my second home, and it
was because I was determined to do it, because I
had the confidence, but I needed to go back and
get sharp on the fundamentals and that's what took so
much time.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
So that was a challenge. And then get it into
the profession.
Speaker 4 (10:43):
So I was computer science and then I started going
into the systems route, where you have.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
To understand more of the big picture.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
So the software development, you're really focused on your piece
of the pie, but its systems and hearing you really
have to understand on how those pieces work together in
a gred scheme of things, in a grants systems.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
So in any role, you.
Speaker 4 (11:09):
Have to take in a lot of information and some
of it A lot of times I have to focus
on Okay, so what's important for me right now? What
can I write down and get to later. But getting
familiar and used to these complex.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
Systems and the.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
Intricacies of them can be challenging.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
Now I wanted to ask if you could explain an
overview of what computer science is and a overview of
voice systems engineering.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
It's just for the audience, Okay, yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Absolutely, So computer science is a breath of things.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
It's kind of the overarching art around software development, networking,
electronic computing, relational databases, logic, discrete mathematics. It's a big
umbrella of things.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
It kind of is all things tech.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
So a lot of people look at I mean, the
obvious thing is that's your first time, you know, getting
in and writing code and building programs and things like that.
So so it talks a little bit about computer science.
But the systems in your part is the integration of
all the things, whether you're talking.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
About a hardware system or a software system.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
Right, there's this thing called the system engineering be and
that's kind of the best way to kind of explain
what all the things that go into system engineering.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Starts with architecting. Architecting the system.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
So whether you're doing model based systems engineering, basically you're
creating use cases, designing the system, and or modeling the
system in a way to where you can present.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
That to stakeholders and how it works.
Speaker 4 (13:07):
Then once you're done with that, you move on to
establish your requirements.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
So what of the systems are required to do?
Speaker 4 (13:13):
So every program has like a statement of work of
what we are contractly obilated to do in the system.
We develop requirements to kind of that are comprised of
the what, not necessarily the how, and then we give
(13:35):
that off to the team of.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Doers that go develop the system.
Speaker 4 (13:40):
So if you're talking about a software system, software developers,
they go develop their software to meet those requirements. So
then at the end of that system, engineering comes in
again where we do the integration of those various components
and then verification or validation. Yeah, so verification and validation
(14:05):
is do we meet the.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Requirement and is this what the customer wanted? That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
Thank you for explaining that in breaking it down for
our audience.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
So we're going to get back to you and your
journey and your accomplishments. So my next question is what
is one particular project or accomplishment that you're particularly proud
of in your STEM journey. And this can be college,
high school, middle school, now, whatever you want it to be.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
I love that question.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
Because it's a lot you have to take credit in
engineering sometimes and I will say this not to derail
too much from the question, but it's important to take
credit for your small wins yea too, because sometimes.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
The big accomplishments take years to get.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
Through and they're not necessarily of your own, but some
accomplishments that I'm most proud of. I would say my
last program that was on, we were up against we
really had our back against the wall between us, our stakeholder,
and a contractor.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
That we were working with, and we had.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
A lot of challenges because this contractor had developed essentially
what would be a brand new product, but we were
in an integration phase where we were moving towards a
sus statement, so we were trying to shift that product
into something new. But they had delivered that newness before
(15:33):
we had, in my opinion, anticipated it to be done,
and so we had to make sure that that new
product was consistent with the ODE and that our end
user didn't have any issues with what they had delivered.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
But there were a lot of issues we did, And
I remember one time going.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
To one of our directors for our wont name but
saying that I'm like, I don't know if we can
get this done. I was just like, I'm usually an
optimistic person, but I was like very pessimistic, and I'm gonna.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Shake to the director because nobody's hearing me. This is
madness right right. You had to escalate, so he said
to me, which I'll never forget. He was like, my,
I think he can do a little bit better than that,
and wow.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
So he put the responsibility back on me to leave
my team, no matter what was going on outside, what
can we do to achieve what we're trying to achieve
total And that really stuck with me because I then
focused on what I could control and how our team
(16:51):
was executing and how we stood up.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
They came in and worked over.
Speaker 7 (16:55):
Time and really try to figure out where all the
issues were before or they went out to the customer
and we actually did have a reduction and software slips.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
That's good, yeah, to the to our stakeholder.
Speaker 4 (17:11):
So ultimately I could say that that was a big,
big accomplishment.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
Yeah, and it's great that you got to take that
leadership once you went to your director not expecting to say, oh,
I want to perspect you.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
You're expecting a solutions of help. So it's really big
on you to take that leadership and ownership.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
Yeah, get to collaborate with your team to make sure
the fall was Also, that's a good example of something
we have to do.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Learning us.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
We're doing it, but you have the skills to make
it happen. So that's great, Yeah, awesome. So now I'm
gonna ask about how computer science interacts with other disciplines
such as electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, or c civil engineering.
You can do this for computer science or systems, cause
now you're more into systems. But how do you all
get to cross collaborate with other engineers within your companies?
Speaker 4 (17:59):
Oh yeah, all the time, especially now where I'm more
on the aircraft side and working in aerospace.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
There's scientists all the.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
Way to the program management, right, the software engineers, and
so when there's a new software is within everything now,
our cars, everything is run by a computer. So that
in itself, if you are pursuing a career and everybody's
(18:36):
a software everybody's a coder, I will say.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
That, I will say a software engineer, but everybody should.
Speaker 4 (18:42):
Have those fundamental skills on understanding how software works to
some level, right because it is everything, and so coding is.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
One of those fundamental skills.
Speaker 4 (18:56):
I mean, well, now artificial intelligence, like you don't really
know how to need to know how to code anymore
per se, but learn how to leverage AI understand what
the heck is going on. It's very important that's integrated
into things that are electrical.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Those science which I probably don't know a whole lot about.
I know about the industrial side.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
Because having a background in data, learning about supply chains
and proving various processes are important.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Working with a product.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
Now and optimizing supply chain, leveraging data.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
From our various maintenance sites. Yeah, it's all interconnected. It
really depends on the product. But yeah, I don't know
if I answered your questions. That's fine, and you talk
about how they make to mingle with different things. But
you also got into with needed for computer scientists. So
(20:02):
maya you just talked about how AI.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Is taking over.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
You talked a little bit about different types of computer
science and how it connects with other people and fields.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
So computer science is a broad field.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
What are some different career paths people may not be
aware of that are up and coming?
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Are already up there?
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Yeah, so.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
New doesn't have new. It could just be anything out there,
anything out there.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (20:33):
So I talked a little bit about model based.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Architecture design. That's the field.
Speaker 4 (20:46):
That I see a lot of people getting into, is
model based systems engineering overall. That's one field that I
see a lot of people getting into learning how.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
To design systems and.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
System l or system modeling, language, artificial intelligence, computer science.
I mean it's getting getting your degree in something STAMM
You'll have a lot of opportunities to you.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
You really have to see where your niche is to fit.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
For me, my niche was systems engineering just because of
being able to understand the.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
Complexity behind various systems. I do everything systematically.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
Yeah, I can't even go to the airport without having
a system behind it, right, So yeah, I think going
into the field, just focusing on what you're studying in
academia and then interning, trying.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
To have different things. You have to see where you
fit what works for you. Awesome, thank you. So with
people getting into.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
Computer science or systems engineering, what are some resources, books
of courses you would recommend them checking out?
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Obviously there's I mean it's an upcoming film. I'm trying
to see that. Many colleges offer systems engineering.
Speaker 4 (22:28):
As various bachelor's or master's programs.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Behind that.
Speaker 4 (22:37):
Books not nothing that I can think of, per se,
there's tons of books. I mean, you can go to
the Institute of Systems Engineering.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
And coc Okay, maybe focused on becoming certified c STEP
a certified System engineering professional. That's one of the things
in my bucket list I've planning to do.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
There's so many resources out there.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
Yeah, okay, I just wanted to name if you if
you had some that are like, Okay, you got to
check this out.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
And that was good what you just said.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
So, now that we've talked about resources and different fields
and roles, how do you see the field of computer
science evolving over the next five to ten years. You
really already touched on it with model based systems AI.
How do you think that's going to change computer the
industry over the next couple of years.
Speaker 4 (23:28):
Yeah. I mean we're going to be able to build
things quicker, more efficiently over the next few years, and.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
People are gonna have the opportunity to work larger issues.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
So I definitely feel as if the profession is going
to start rapidly revolving, whereas we're going to be doing
more complex type of development to solve complicated issues.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
I feel like data mining, data engineering.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
Quantum computing be able to process all this data very cool. Yeah,
those things are going to be the next the next
fix things.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Awesome, Thank you, Maya.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
So Now I wanted to ask what motivated you to
pursue a master's in data analytics where you were already
working in the Stanfield.
Speaker 4 (24:33):
Yeah, my motivation was I wanted, I had the desire
to learn, and I had a passion the platform that
I was working on in the defense industry, we had
access to vast amount of data and.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
I would always use that data to help me.
Speaker 4 (25:01):
Portray complex problems to software developers.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
And understand where the issues were. And so I found
that I liked working.
Speaker 4 (25:11):
With data and that is what motivated me to pursue
my master's in the profession where I got exposed to
artificial intelligence, machine learning, relational databases, database management.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
And I definitely think that.
Speaker 4 (25:32):
Data science overall is the future of system engineering.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
But it is the future too pretty much every engineering
practice because once.
Speaker 4 (25:44):
You understand how to labor shows data to drive solutions,
just to drive best practices, those things are become very valuable.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
So awesome, thanks mine.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
So while you were doing it masters, you were working
full time. How did you make balance work, studies, personal.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
Life and making sure you stayed on track like everything?
Was there any tips that can.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
Maybe help other people going through the same thing, Well.
Speaker 4 (26:12):
I had like a hat because I went to college
during the pandemic, so it wasn't.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
Much of a social life then.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
But I'm still in school working on a PhD in
industrial engineering and definitely make some challenges.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
I definitely face.
Speaker 4 (26:29):
Things that I did not have issues with through my
master's probably because I didn't have a choice right, right.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
And now it's hard balancing your work. But yeah, you
have to say really organized. Yeah, at the end of.
Speaker 4 (26:43):
The day, I have a daily planner, make sure that
I'm setting daily goals for myself, weekly.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Goals, movely goals, making.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
Sure that I stay organized and accountable for the things
that I have to do. So when it comes to
your personal life, I tell people.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
If you're thinking of just dropping in and popping out
without a notice, don't just don't because I can't come.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
Don't invite me because I'm not going to feel back
because I didn't get invited, especially if.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
It was just like a pop up random mounting.
Speaker 4 (27:19):
You know, if there's something that you plan, just let know,
like birthday dinners, Yeah exactly, you know, give me a
heads up and I'll put it in my calendar and
I will plan around that.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Right. If there's like a pop up, spontaneous outing. Just
just don't invite me. Yeah, that's good.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
That's good that you have to ex manage those expectations
with your circle.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Yeah yeah, just understood.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
It's not personal, it's just business.
Speaker 4 (27:48):
Right.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Just letn't all this time. We can pop up anytime exactly.
Let me get this degree. Yeah, let me get this
out of the way. That's good. Inviting awesome.
Speaker 3 (27:58):
So can you give us an overview of what data
analytics is.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
Oh, data analytics or data science, if you will, is
an overwatching thing, just like computer science. It is comprised
of various different things, artificial intelligence being one. You've got
your machine learning, you got your data analytics.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Start up with data analytics.
Speaker 4 (28:23):
They analyze the data, they gather the data, they prep
the data. Machine learning is we're training algorithms to learn
from the data, and so we train.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
Them positively through positive and.
Speaker 4 (28:39):
Negative reinforcement, just like you would train a child or
something like that. So you're you develop and so in
the algorithms and things like that.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
That's artificial intelligence.
Speaker 4 (28:51):
So as the algorithms are training or they're developed their training, they.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
Get better, they become smarter.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
They establish things like neural networks where those algorithms are
are trained and configured, you know, in.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
A way where you've got various.
Speaker 4 (29:12):
Various phases if you will, to catch different things. Artificial
intelligence is like what the data analytists, the data analysts
and the.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Machine learning we want to get to. But you don't
have to go in that direction. You can.
Speaker 4 (29:34):
You can like data analysts, they do things where they
you know, do data visualization.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
So yeah, it all, it all is like the world.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Yeah to get there. Yeah one another, yeah, thank you.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
How do you envision your master's degree influencing your long
term career.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
Path and your doctorate? Now because you're doing your doctorate
in industrial how do you feel like your degrees will
help your long term plan and career growth?
Speaker 4 (30:04):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (30:05):
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (30:07):
One thing that academia helps with is learning how to think.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
In terms of research. So I question everything now, I
don't remember.
Speaker 4 (30:20):
Take anything as space value, like everything is an opinion
until it's like research.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
Yeah, that's one.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
Thing I can go into that.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
Yeah, I love good. Yeah. Another thing is expanding.
Speaker 4 (30:36):
Your network, right, so I meet various individuals and professionals
like students and professors.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
That inspire me. Yeah, I love it. Thank you.
Speaker 3 (30:48):
What advice would you give to young women considering a
careeran stamp, but I'm sure about balancing it with family,
personal life or other interests.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Just do it.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
I love it.
Speaker 4 (30:57):
That's just go through it and be hell bent on
getting what you what you want.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
Don't don't give up. There'll be up. There will be
plenty of times as.
Speaker 4 (31:10):
As you go through it, you'll learn, uh, you'll be
able to inspire.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
Others, find your why and why you're doing it. But yeah,
be help the health it be determined. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (31:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:24):
Now want to ask you what's the best piece of
career about you've received so far and how has it.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Shaped your path?
Speaker 4 (31:33):
I can quote uh doctor Lucilla Young clumpting Young again, Yeah,
where she was like, you could have it all, you
could do everything. Don't place limitations on yourself. There'll be
hr limitations, there'll be.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Minimums and do things like that. Don't think about any
of those things.
Speaker 4 (31:53):
Don't place limitations on If you're walking around saying I
can't do something.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
For x ys, you just turn that out. You can
do literally what you want to do.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
I love it. Yeah, Oh that's so great. Don't put
oh worries about just worry about what you can control today.
Speaker 4 (32:16):
Yeah, you know, like I said when the director said, so,
I think you can do a little.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
Bit better than that.
Speaker 4 (32:24):
Right, look at yourself in the mirror when you're being
doubtful and sell yourself.
Speaker 2 (32:30):
I think you can do a little bit better than
that and see see what comes of it. This is amazing.
I love it.
Speaker 3 (32:38):
Well, now we've talked about your journey, I went to
ask looking back and said, anything you would have done
differently in your.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
Sim journey, anything that I could have done differently. I'm
just kidding. Let's see. I will say, I don't know. Yeah,
it doesn't have anything.
Speaker 3 (33:00):
Yeah, I want to ask because sometimes people are like,
I wish I went straight to my master's after undergrad,
or people are like I wish I hadn't gone straight
into it. I wish I had done it while I
was working and already growing my career while I did it,
Or people say just different things. They would say, taken
different electives in college. It doesn't, and you wouldn't have
to change anything, because of course what we did us.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
To where we are now.
Speaker 4 (33:21):
But if you wanted to, if you could, that was
just a question I wanted to ask no, I really,
I have been so honest, like I can't think of
one thing that I would change because all of those.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Things make me who I am today, right, And so.
Speaker 4 (33:41):
I definitely want to do more, right like when.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
I want to get a certification or I want to
do more. Yeah, so just being committed to doing that.
Speaker 3 (33:55):
But yeah, no, all those historians I value, even the mistakes.
I want to ask, have you ever been involved in
any initiatives or programs to encourage young women who are
underrepresented groups to pursue stim fuils?
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Yeah? Absolutely so.
Speaker 4 (34:14):
When I was in Orlando, volunteered a lot with Great
Greater Oaks Village, Foster Care, those programs or anything programs
like it where sometimes the kids are put there because
they don't have a stable family environment.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
I feel like sometimes they can be unlaunched run they
don't have a.
Speaker 4 (34:45):
Role model or a parent or somebody that can look
up they can look up to. Right, So organizations like
that with foster care and people who need mentors and
things like that and want to be inspired like and
want to see themselves maybe have a similar story where
(35:06):
they don't have they don't have the academics right now,
and I can say, hey, I didn't start out as
a maths and if you get asked me to do
a mental.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
Math question, I'll probably get it wrong.
Speaker 1 (35:18):
Like my boyfriend.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
My boyfriend is a math major. He like put a
formula in front of me yesterday and he's like, now, oh,
I don't ever do that.
Speaker 4 (35:32):
Like I can give you a calculator, I can get
the answer back to you.
Speaker 2 (35:35):
But yeah, you know, stuff like that I still struggle with.
That's okay.
Speaker 4 (35:39):
So you know.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
Those work on those, work with those people.
Speaker 4 (35:45):
I like to work with those people who are not
like sometimes you know, a lot of stamp places are like, oh, you.
Speaker 2 (35:52):
Have to have a GPA. Yeah you know, it's again.
Speaker 4 (35:55):
But there's people that just look at that and they
automatically discol otherselves.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
It's like, you can get the GPA.
Speaker 4 (36:04):
You just need somebody to say that to you and
inspire you and be like, this is why you need it.
It's okay not to get it in class. Go to
the math lab. Be there, sleep there, the first one there.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
Get help. Because you are capable of getting this. You
just have to work a little bit harder.
Speaker 4 (36:25):
But it's okay because that's gonna build character you. So
don't don't just focus on the high achievers. A lot
of sim plus shows organizations like oh you gotta get
the GPA, you gotta have food scholarship. Yeah, they're gonna
take off the top talent, But what about the people
who are.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
Have the same skills. They just need a.
Speaker 4 (36:46):
Little help, They just need a little motivation. So I
like focusing on organizations like that.
Speaker 1 (36:51):
That's awesome. Yeah, thank you, so mayam.
Speaker 3 (36:55):
Before we close out today, we have two more questions left.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
I first wanted to.
Speaker 3 (36:58):
Ask you what are three tips for success while navigating
the STEM industry.
Speaker 2 (37:03):
Number one is be a problem solver when you are complaining.
Speaker 4 (37:15):
That's the first step in my mind of identifying your problem.
So when you complain, think of I challenge people that
think of what they would do to fix it, and
that could be anything. And literally, if you get good
at this, you might be.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
A millionaire one day because you may.
Speaker 4 (37:34):
Engineer something that was brand new though was a problem
that everybody was complaining about.
Speaker 2 (37:40):
You're the only one that could provide a solution. So
and that leaves me to.
Speaker 4 (37:46):
You want to make sure that you're solution oriented. That's
the word being solution oriented. Number two is look at
everything through a lens of can do.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
You really have exhausted everything in your ability and that
is not when you expected.
Speaker 4 (38:07):
It may be later on, but approach things with the
ability of yes, we can accomplish this, and that after
complaining a little bit, think about problem solving and then
having that can do attitude that we can we can
achieve with this goal or whatever it is. And then lastly,
be your your new self because your experiences.
Speaker 2 (38:31):
Who you are, your quirks, your.
Speaker 4 (38:35):
Personality, the way you dress has a place, so make
sure that you bring your unique self and your authentic
authenticity to the to the table with you.
Speaker 3 (38:46):
I love that those are amazing tips because we use
it in the industry.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
Anybody can use this, I hope.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
So yeah, thank you man for that.
Speaker 3 (38:55):
And for our last question, I want to ask what
is next for you in your career and what do
you have to achieve in the future.
Speaker 2 (39:01):
You've already told us a little bit about your PhD,
So what's it? Oh yeah, absolutely, yeah, definitely trying to
reach the ultimate top mountain, top of academia. Yeah, it's
definitely a challenge and it's a long way to get there,
but like I said, you have to be determined and
helping to get it done.
Speaker 4 (39:21):
Any obstacle that comes your way, you just feel like
it doesn't matter because I'm still gonna.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
Make it happen.
Speaker 4 (39:28):
I don't have it.
Speaker 2 (39:29):
It's not about if it's about wind.
Speaker 4 (39:31):
So yeah, and then career wise, I'm learning a lot
more about taking a little step outside of my engineering
role and getting into program leadership.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
Yeah, definitely something that I shied.
Speaker 4 (39:46):
Away from before, but in the role I am in now,
taking on a lot of the leadership responsibilities and delegating
and making sure that people are accountable for what they
are doing is something that I'm leaning into. So learning
(40:07):
a little bit more about the business side of the
defense industry. And so it's it's always it's not the
fun part. It's not the creative part. You can bring
your creativity to program management and things like that and
that does farewell for you, but there's a lot of
things to consider and it's all sometimes it seems like
(40:28):
everything's just dollars and cents, But you know you have
to as an engineer, that's a great.
Speaker 2 (40:39):
Skills have because you don't you don't see that part.
Speaker 4 (40:42):
You just see I just want to do this, But
those things cost and there's a schedule.
Speaker 3 (40:48):
And risk and risk and medication plan. Yeh, and it
all adds up, like you said, Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
Yes, it's the bigger pick.
Speaker 3 (41:00):
Sharing how the whole everything works together, not just the
end product, and why we're doing what we do and
what it all tracks Tom.
Speaker 2 (41:08):
That's super important.
Speaker 4 (41:09):
It's so important so that I can take that when
I do go backshop with my engineering love yeah, and
hopefully use that to make better decisions.
Speaker 2 (41:22):
I love it.
Speaker 4 (41:23):
Well.
Speaker 5 (41:23):
Thank you Mary for joining us today, thank you for
giving me, thank you for.
Speaker 3 (41:27):
Being a guest, sharing so much great wisdom and knowledge
your journey. I'm excited for all that it will impact,
and we're glad to have you today. So everyone like,
watch and subscribe and we will see you next time.
Speaker 2 (41:40):
Hi.
Speaker 4 (41:40):
Thanks
Oh god, we're getting extended all right.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Hello everyone, and welcome to all Things sim with Ashley.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
I'm super excited today as we have Maya Davis joining us.
We're going to learn a little bit about her journey
and tips her success along the way.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
So let's get started.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Maya Davis, a passionate leader in STEM, combines expertise in
computer science and data science with a commitment to community service.
Born and raised in Nashville, she earned her BS and
Computer science from Tennessee State University in twenty seventeen before
launching her career in the defense industry as a systems
engineer in Florida. There she held her technical skills and
(00:53):
Aerospace and defense, earning multiple promotions. Her growing interests in
data science led her to pursue a master's in Data
and A from the University of Central Florida, which she
completed in twenty twenty two. Beyond her career, mine is
dedicated to mentorship, volunteering with Black Orlando Tech and the
National Society of Black Engineers to inspire young professionals in STEM.
(01:13):
She is a trailblazer in her field, embodies resilience, confidence,
and passion for success. So maya welcome, thank you, thank
you for joining us today. Can you tell us a
little bit about where you're from and about yourself and
then how you got interested in STEM?
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Absolutely so, as Manchanna from Nashville, Tennessee. Shortly after my
graduation with my bachelors, I moved to Orleando and that's
where I started working in the defense industry. My motivation
to get into STEM is kind of a long winded
story because it wasn't always literal for me going to college.
(01:50):
I couldn't tell you that seven years from then i'd
be graduate and pursuing.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Your career in engineering.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
Yeah, I pursued multiple things going I think my first.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Measure in college was biology.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
And you know, trying to think about what I wanted
out of a career.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
I knew that I wanted to be creative.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
I wanted to be doing something that would pursue my
passion for creativity.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
I know I.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Needed to have a lifestyle that I could afford or
afford my lifestyle because I would no longer be under
my parents. My parents care and support, and I wanted
to be independent. So being in a career that was
lucrative was very important to me. As well, and so
(02:45):
after trial and error, I think I changed my major
at least three times before I stumbled on computer science.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
And it was really my.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Mom who inspired that because I had a social media
page aged me a little bit, but.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
My space where you would.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Have the ability to customize your layouts, and I would
spend hours on doing this customization because I wanted my
layout to be as unique as possible. And really what
it was is like the fundamentals of web development or HTML.
And so that's how I started coding, and you know,
I was able to pick it up pick up HTML
(03:24):
fairly quickly, and then upon transferring into TSU, I pursued
computer science and coding was one of my strengths there,
and that's how I stumble upon the STEM career field.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
I love that it's super cool. That's great, And I
love how your.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
Mom like to go this like, oh, this could be
good for you and got to help kind of guide you.
Speaker 5 (03:48):
Yeah, I thank you appreciating that. Yes, shout out to her. Yeah, okay,
so Maya, I'm glad we got to learn how you.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Got introduced into the SIM field. Now I want to
ask did you have any role models or mentors influenced
to a longer state journey.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
Yes, I did.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
I have numerous role models, and.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
While I can't go through all of them, some people
really kind of stand out and overall in my career in.
Speaker 6 (04:16):
STEM and so one who I don't know if she
may know justin Cloud. He is an executive professional professional
at L three Harris Okay.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Now, he used to work at Lucky Martin, and he
opened the door for me and.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
A lot of other people getting into the defense industry.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
And so his way of bringing in talent go to going.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
To conferences like National Society of Black Engineers.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
I remember approaching him and.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Asked him what he did, and he was like, I'm
a system engineer and I had an internship that summer
with Dell, and one of my mentors there said that
I would make a great systems engineer just because of
my technical prowess but also my ability to communicate technical
(05:23):
things in an understandable way. And so I was like
when he said that, I was like, Oh, my mentor
said that I'd making great systems in here, whatever, And
I hit it in my resume and I got an interview.
I interviewed on the same day with one of my
best friends now.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Her name is Carrie Bass.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
Also very inspiring individual in Orlando. We interviewed on the
same day we got hired in. It started on the
same day. But anyways, Justin is continuing to do great
things in Steam.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
He's got a non profit now and it's called Level
of Brother. They're doing great things in Orlando. So he's
one of the persons that I look up to that.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
Continued to inspire me just because of his ability to
connect people, bring people into the industry and so really
great guy. And also doctor Lusia Comping young Aunible Mission
mentioned when I was at Tennessee State University, she was
the vice president of Research and Institutional Academia or institutional Advancement, and.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
She was also the chief research officer, and.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
She did a lot behind the scenes, some that I
didn't realize. I actually connected with her last year in August,
and she was one of the reasons why were able
to go to those conferences, go to the National Society
of Black Engineers conference.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
I was the vice president for two years in a row.
And so she is.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
I can't talk give her justice because her bio is
so impressive, but I will say that she is.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
A trailblazer in the in the engineering community.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
She was also the president of Texas Southern University and
she's continuing to make waves in the community.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
She has hundreds of mentees and.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
She's the one that told me that, you know, coming
in the engineering it's a lot of things that you
have to deal with.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
But she said, Maya, you could have it all. You
could have a family, you can have the career, you
can have the education. All you have to do is
do the work. But it is possible. I love that.
That's beautiful and you're doing it out. So I'm gonna
talk about along your journey. Were there any challenges you
face growing up that may pursuing a SDM career difficult
(08:11):
at all?
Speaker 4 (08:14):
There's always challenges. I mean, being an engineer in and
of itself, what are you really if you take the
engineering title away, you're a problem solver. Yeah, so every
day you come in there's a new problem to solve.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Whether it's a relational problem right and a personal problems.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
It could be a technical problem. Mainly technical problems, but
there's other problems too. Yeah, as an engineer, you have to.
Speaker 4 (08:41):
Look at things with your problem solver lens and how can.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
You fix this.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
So I will say that is a huge part. As
far as challenges, I mean, it was a challenge from
day one.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Like I said, like.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
I wasn't the person that had the best grade coming
into college. Like I had good grades, but I went
to National School, the Arts Will Mission, and of course
there's a lot of smart, brilliant people, but the focus.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Was more on the arts rather than STEM at that time.
It's more steam heavy on the air, and so I dance.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
I had a lot of fun, yeah to classes, but
it really academia.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Wasn't like the forefront.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
It was just like creativity and artistic thing got into
college and it was really a eye opener as far
as you know, am I able to do this?
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Am I able to be here?
Speaker 4 (09:49):
I missed a lot of the fundamentals, you know, so
I'm gonna have to go back and you know, really
start over. So and I wasn't the person that could
go in a class and just get it. I had
to dedicate a lot of time to really.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Make a b you know, I do over the time.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
It spent hours in the math lab, hours, you know,
just really trying to get the basics.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
And I spent a lot of time with my teachers.
Speaker 4 (10:20):
The math lab was literally my second home, and it
was because I was determined to do it, because I
had the confidence, but I needed to go back and
get sharp on the fundamentals and that's what took so
much time.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
So that was a challenge. And then get it into
the profession.
Speaker 4 (10:43):
So I was computer science and then I started going
into the systems route, where you have.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
To understand more of the big picture.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
So the software development, you're really focused on your piece
of the pie, but its systems and hearing you really
have to understand on how those pieces work together in
a gred scheme of things, in a grants systems.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
So in any role, you.
Speaker 4 (11:09):
Have to take in a lot of information and some
of it A lot of times I have to focus
on Okay, so what's important for me right now? What
can I write down and get to later. But getting
familiar and used to these complex.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
Systems and the.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
Intricacies of them can be challenging.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
Now I wanted to ask if you could explain an
overview of what computer science is and a overview of
voice systems engineering.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
It's just for the audience, Okay, yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Absolutely, So computer science is a breath of things.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
It's kind of the overarching art around software development, networking,
electronic computing, relational databases, logic, discrete mathematics. It's a big
umbrella of things.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
It kind of is all things tech.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
So a lot of people look at I mean, the
obvious thing is that's your first time, you know, getting
in and writing code and building programs and things like that.
So so it talks a little bit about computer science.
But the systems in your part is the integration of
all the things, whether you're talking.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
About a hardware system or a software system.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
Right, there's this thing called the system engineering be and
that's kind of the best way to kind of explain
what all the things that go into system engineering.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Starts with architecting. Architecting the system.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
So whether you're doing model based systems engineering, basically you're
creating use cases, designing the system, and or modeling the
system in a way to where you can present.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
That to stakeholders and how it works.
Speaker 4 (13:07):
Then once you're done with that, you move on to
establish your requirements.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
So what of the systems are required to do?
Speaker 4 (13:13):
So every program has like a statement of work of
what we are contractly obilated to do in the system.
We develop requirements to kind of that are comprised of
the what, not necessarily the how, and then we give
(13:35):
that off to the team of.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Doers that go develop the system.
Speaker 4 (13:40):
So if you're talking about a software system, software developers,
they go develop their software to meet those requirements. So
then at the end of that system, engineering comes in
again where we do the integration of those various components
and then verification or validation. Yeah, so verification and validation
(14:05):
is do we meet the.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Requirement and is this what the customer wanted? That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
Thank you for explaining that in breaking it down for
our audience.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
So we're going to get back to you and your
journey and your accomplishments. So my next question is what
is one particular project or accomplishment that you're particularly proud
of in your STEM journey. And this can be college,
high school, middle school, now, whatever you want it to be.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
I love that question.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
Because it's a lot you have to take credit in
engineering sometimes and I will say this not to derail
too much from the question, but it's important to take
credit for your small wins yea too, because sometimes.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
The big accomplishments take years to get.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
Through and they're not necessarily of your own, but some
accomplishments that I'm most proud of. I would say my
last program that was on, we were up against we
really had our back against the wall between us, our stakeholder,
and a contractor.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
That we were working with, and we had.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
A lot of challenges because this contractor had developed essentially
what would be a brand new product, but we were
in an integration phase where we were moving towards a
sus statement, so we were trying to shift that product
into something new. But they had delivered that newness before
(15:33):
we had, in my opinion, anticipated it to be done,
and so we had to make sure that that new
product was consistent with the ODE and that our end
user didn't have any issues with what they had delivered.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
But there were a lot of issues we did, And
I remember one time going.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
To one of our directors for our wont name but
saying that I'm like, I don't know if we can
get this done. I was just like, I'm usually an
optimistic person, but I was like very pessimistic, and I'm gonna.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Shake to the director because nobody's hearing me. This is
madness right right. You had to escalate, so he said
to me, which I'll never forget. He was like, my,
I think he can do a little bit better than that,
and wow.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
So he put the responsibility back on me to leave
my team, no matter what was going on outside, what
can we do to achieve what we're trying to achieve
total And that really stuck with me because I then
focused on what I could control and how our team
(16:51):
was executing and how we stood up.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
They came in and worked over.
Speaker 7 (16:55):
Time and really try to figure out where all the
issues were before or they went out to the customer
and we actually did have a reduction and software slips.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
That's good, yeah, to the to our stakeholder.
Speaker 4 (17:11):
So ultimately I could say that that was a big,
big accomplishment.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
Yeah, and it's great that you got to take that
leadership once you went to your director not expecting to say, oh,
I want to perspect you.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
You're expecting a solutions of help. So it's really big
on you to take that leadership and ownership.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
Yeah, get to collaborate with your team to make sure
the fall was Also, that's a good example of something
we have to do.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Learning us.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
We're doing it, but you have the skills to make
it happen. So that's great, Yeah, awesome. So now I'm
gonna ask about how computer science interacts with other disciplines
such as electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, or c civil engineering.
You can do this for computer science or systems, cause
now you're more into systems. But how do you all
get to cross collaborate with other engineers within your companies?
Speaker 4 (17:59):
Oh yeah, all the time, especially now where I'm more
on the aircraft side and working in aerospace.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
There's scientists all the.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
Way to the program management, right, the software engineers, and
so when there's a new software is within everything now,
our cars, everything is run by a computer. So that
in itself, if you are pursuing a career and everybody's
(18:36):
a software everybody's a coder, I will say.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
That, I will say a software engineer, but everybody should.
Speaker 4 (18:42):
Have those fundamental skills on understanding how software works to
some level, right because it is everything, and so coding is.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
One of those fundamental skills.
Speaker 4 (18:56):
I mean, well, now artificial intelligence, like you don't really
know how to need to know how to code anymore
per se, but learn how to leverage AI understand what
the heck is going on. It's very important that's integrated
into things that are electrical.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Those science which I probably don't know a whole lot about.
I know about the industrial side.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
Because having a background in data, learning about supply chains
and proving various processes are important.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Working with a product.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
Now and optimizing supply chain, leveraging data.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
From our various maintenance sites. Yeah, it's all interconnected. It
really depends on the product. But yeah, I don't know
if I answered your questions. That's fine, and you talk
about how they make to mingle with different things. But
you also got into with needed for computer scientists. So
(20:02):
maya you just talked about how AI.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Is taking over.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
You talked a little bit about different types of computer
science and how it connects with other people and fields.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
So computer science is a broad field.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
What are some different career paths people may not be
aware of that are up and coming?
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Are already up there?
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Yeah, so.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
New doesn't have new. It could just be anything out there,
anything out there.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (20:33):
So I talked a little bit about model based.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Architecture design. That's the field.
Speaker 4 (20:46):
That I see a lot of people getting into, is
model based systems engineering overall. That's one field that I
see a lot of people getting into learning how.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
To design systems and.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
System l or system modeling, language, artificial intelligence, computer science.
I mean it's getting getting your degree in something STAMM
You'll have a lot of opportunities to you.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
You really have to see where your niche is to fit.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
For me, my niche was systems engineering just because of
being able to understand the.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
Complexity behind various systems. I do everything systematically.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
Yeah, I can't even go to the airport without having
a system behind it, right, So yeah, I think going
into the field, just focusing on what you're studying in
academia and then interning, trying.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
To have different things. You have to see where you
fit what works for you. Awesome, thank you. So with
people getting into.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
Computer science or systems engineering, what are some resources, books
of courses you would recommend them checking out?
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Obviously there's I mean it's an upcoming film. I'm trying
to see that. Many colleges offer systems engineering.
Speaker 4 (22:28):
As various bachelor's or master's programs.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Behind that.
Speaker 4 (22:37):
Books not nothing that I can think of, per se,
there's tons of books. I mean, you can go to
the Institute of Systems Engineering.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
And coc Okay, maybe focused on becoming certified c STEP
a certified System engineering professional. That's one of the things
in my bucket list I've planning to do.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
There's so many resources out there.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
Yeah, okay, I just wanted to name if you if
you had some that are like, Okay, you got to
check this out.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
And that was good what you just said.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
So, now that we've talked about resources and different fields
and roles, how do you see the field of computer
science evolving over the next five to ten years. You
really already touched on it with model based systems AI.
How do you think that's going to change computer the
industry over the next couple of years.
Speaker 4 (23:28):
Yeah. I mean we're going to be able to build
things quicker, more efficiently over the next few years, and.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
People are gonna have the opportunity to work larger issues.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
So I definitely feel as if the profession is going
to start rapidly revolving, whereas we're going to be doing
more complex type of development to solve complicated issues.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
I feel like data mining, data engineering.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
Quantum computing be able to process all this data very cool. Yeah,
those things are going to be the next the next
fix things.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Awesome, Thank you, Maya.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
So Now I wanted to ask what motivated you to
pursue a master's in data analytics where you were already
working in the Stanfield.
Speaker 4 (24:33):
Yeah, my motivation was I wanted, I had the desire
to learn, and I had a passion the platform that
I was working on in the defense industry, we had
access to vast amount of data and.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
I would always use that data to help me.
Speaker 4 (25:01):
Portray complex problems to software developers.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
And understand where the issues were. And so I found
that I liked working.
Speaker 4 (25:11):
With data and that is what motivated me to pursue
my master's in the profession where I got exposed to
artificial intelligence, machine learning, relational databases, database management.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
And I definitely think that.
Speaker 4 (25:32):
Data science overall is the future of system engineering.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
But it is the future too pretty much every engineering
practice because once.
Speaker 4 (25:44):
You understand how to labor shows data to drive solutions,
just to drive best practices, those things are become very valuable.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
So awesome, thanks mine.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
So while you were doing it masters, you were working
full time. How did you make balance work, studies, personal.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
Life and making sure you stayed on track like everything?
Was there any tips that can.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
Maybe help other people going through the same thing, Well.
Speaker 4 (26:12):
I had like a hat because I went to college
during the pandemic, so it wasn't.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
Much of a social life then.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
But I'm still in school working on a PhD in
industrial engineering and definitely make some challenges.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
I definitely face.
Speaker 4 (26:29):
Things that I did not have issues with through my
master's probably because I didn't have a choice right, right.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
And now it's hard balancing your work. But yeah, you
have to say really organized. Yeah, at the end of.
Speaker 4 (26:43):
The day, I have a daily planner, make sure that
I'm setting daily goals for myself, weekly.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Goals, movely goals, making.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
Sure that I stay organized and accountable for the things
that I have to do. So when it comes to
your personal life, I tell people.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
If you're thinking of just dropping in and popping out
without a notice, don't just don't because I can't come.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
Don't invite me because I'm not going to feel back
because I didn't get invited, especially if.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
It was just like a pop up random mounting.
Speaker 4 (27:19):
You know, if there's something that you plan, just let know,
like birthday dinners, Yeah exactly, you know, give me a
heads up and I'll put it in my calendar and
I will plan around that.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Right. If there's like a pop up, spontaneous outing. Just
just don't invite me. Yeah, that's good.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
That's good that you have to ex manage those expectations
with your circle.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Yeah yeah, just understood.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
It's not personal, it's just business.
Speaker 4 (27:48):
Right.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Just letn't all this time. We can pop up anytime exactly.
Let me get this degree. Yeah, let me get this
out of the way. That's good. Inviting awesome.
Speaker 3 (27:58):
So can you give us an overview of what data
analytics is.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
Oh, data analytics or data science, if you will, is
an overwatching thing, just like computer science. It is comprised
of various different things, artificial intelligence being one. You've got
your machine learning, you got your data analytics.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Start up with data analytics.
Speaker 4 (28:23):
They analyze the data, they gather the data, they prep
the data. Machine learning is we're training algorithms to learn
from the data, and so we train.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
Them positively through positive and.
Speaker 4 (28:39):
Negative reinforcement, just like you would train a child or
something like that. So you're you develop and so in
the algorithms and things like that.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
That's artificial intelligence.
Speaker 4 (28:51):
So as the algorithms are training or they're developed their training, they.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
Get better, they become smarter.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
They establish things like neural networks where those algorithms are
are trained and configured, you know, in.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
A way where you've got various.
Speaker 4 (29:12):
Various phases if you will, to catch different things. Artificial
intelligence is like what the data analytists, the data analysts
and the.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Machine learning we want to get to. But you don't
have to go in that direction. You can.
Speaker 4 (29:34):
You can like data analysts, they do things where they
you know, do data visualization.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
So yeah, it all, it all is like the world.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Yeah to get there. Yeah one another, yeah, thank you.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
How do you envision your master's degree influencing your long
term career.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
Path and your doctorate? Now because you're doing your doctorate
in industrial how do you feel like your degrees will
help your long term plan and career growth?
Speaker 4 (30:04):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (30:05):
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (30:07):
One thing that academia helps with is learning how to think.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
In terms of research. So I question everything now, I
don't remember.
Speaker 4 (30:20):
Take anything as space value, like everything is an opinion
until it's like research.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
Yeah, that's one.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
Thing I can go into that.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
Yeah, I love good. Yeah. Another thing is expanding.
Speaker 4 (30:36):
Your network, right, so I meet various individuals and professionals
like students and professors.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
That inspire me. Yeah, I love it. Thank you.
Speaker 3 (30:48):
What advice would you give to young women considering a
careeran stamp, but I'm sure about balancing it with family,
personal life or other interests.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Just do it.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
I love it.
Speaker 4 (30:57):
That's just go through it and be hell bent on
getting what you what you want.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
Don't don't give up. There'll be up. There will be
plenty of times as.
Speaker 4 (31:10):
As you go through it, you'll learn, uh, you'll be
able to inspire.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
Others, find your why and why you're doing it. But yeah,
be help the health it be determined. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (31:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:24):
Now want to ask you what's the best piece of
career about you've received so far and how has it.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Shaped your path?
Speaker 4 (31:33):
I can quote uh doctor Lucilla Young clumpting Young again, Yeah,
where she was like, you could have it all, you
could do everything. Don't place limitations on yourself. There'll be
hr limitations, there'll be.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Minimums and do things like that. Don't think about any
of those things.
Speaker 4 (31:53):
Don't place limitations on If you're walking around saying I
can't do something.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
For x ys, you just turn that out. You can
do literally what you want to do.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
I love it. Yeah, Oh that's so great. Don't put
oh worries about just worry about what you can control today.
Speaker 4 (32:16):
Yeah, you know, like I said when the director said, so,
I think you can do a little.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
Bit better than that.
Speaker 4 (32:24):
Right, look at yourself in the mirror when you're being
doubtful and sell yourself.
Speaker 2 (32:30):
I think you can do a little bit better than
that and see see what comes of it. This is amazing.
I love it.
Speaker 3 (32:38):
Well, now we've talked about your journey, I went to
ask looking back and said, anything you would have done
differently in your.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
Sim journey, anything that I could have done differently. I'm
just kidding. Let's see. I will say, I don't know. Yeah,
it doesn't have anything.
Speaker 3 (33:00):
Yeah, I want to ask because sometimes people are like,
I wish I went straight to my master's after undergrad,
or people are like I wish I hadn't gone straight
into it. I wish I had done it while I
was working and already growing my career while I did it,
Or people say just different things. They would say, taken
different electives in college. It doesn't, and you wouldn't have
to change anything, because of course what we did us.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
To where we are now.
Speaker 4 (33:21):
But if you wanted to, if you could, that was
just a question I wanted to ask no, I really,
I have been so honest, like I can't think of
one thing that I would change because all of those.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Things make me who I am today, right, And so.
Speaker 4 (33:41):
I definitely want to do more, right like when.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
I want to get a certification or I want to
do more. Yeah, so just being committed to doing that.
Speaker 3 (33:55):
But yeah, no, all those historians I value, even the mistakes.
I want to ask, have you ever been involved in
any initiatives or programs to encourage young women who are
underrepresented groups to pursue stim fuils?
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Yeah? Absolutely so.
Speaker 4 (34:14):
When I was in Orlando, volunteered a lot with Great
Greater Oaks Village, Foster Care, those programs or anything programs
like it where sometimes the kids are put there because
they don't have a stable family environment.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
I feel like sometimes they can be unlaunched run they
don't have a.
Speaker 4 (34:45):
Role model or a parent or somebody that can look
up they can look up to. Right, So organizations like
that with foster care and people who need mentors and
things like that and want to be inspired like and
want to see themselves maybe have a similar story where
(35:06):
they don't have they don't have the academics right now,
and I can say, hey, I didn't start out as
a maths and if you get asked me to do
a mental.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
Math question, I'll probably get it wrong.
Speaker 1 (35:18):
Like my boyfriend.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
My boyfriend is a math major. He like put a
formula in front of me yesterday and he's like, now, oh,
I don't ever do that.
Speaker 4 (35:32):
Like I can give you a calculator, I can get
the answer back to you.
Speaker 2 (35:35):
But yeah, you know, stuff like that I still struggle with.
That's okay.
Speaker 4 (35:39):
So you know.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
Those work on those, work with those people.
Speaker 4 (35:45):
I like to work with those people who are not
like sometimes you know, a lot of stamp places are like, oh, you.
Speaker 2 (35:52):
Have to have a GPA. Yeah you know, it's again.
Speaker 4 (35:55):
But there's people that just look at that and they
automatically discol otherselves.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
It's like, you can get the GPA.
Speaker 4 (36:04):
You just need somebody to say that to you and
inspire you and be like, this is why you need it.
It's okay not to get it in class. Go to
the math lab. Be there, sleep there, the first one there.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
Get help. Because you are capable of getting this. You
just have to work a little bit harder.
Speaker 4 (36:25):
But it's okay because that's gonna build character you. So
don't don't just focus on the high achievers. A lot
of sim plus shows organizations like oh you gotta get
the GPA, you gotta have food scholarship. Yeah, they're gonna
take off the top talent, But what about the people
who are.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
Have the same skills. They just need a.
Speaker 4 (36:46):
Little help, They just need a little motivation. So I
like focusing on organizations like that.
Speaker 1 (36:51):
That's awesome. Yeah, thank you, so mayam.
Speaker 3 (36:55):
Before we close out today, we have two more questions left.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
I first wanted to.
Speaker 3 (36:58):
Ask you what are three tips for success while navigating
the STEM industry.
Speaker 2 (37:03):
Number one is be a problem solver when you are complaining.
Speaker 4 (37:15):
That's the first step in my mind of identifying your problem.
So when you complain, think of I challenge people that
think of what they would do to fix it, and
that could be anything. And literally, if you get good
at this, you might be.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
A millionaire one day because you may.
Speaker 4 (37:34):
Engineer something that was brand new though was a problem
that everybody was complaining about.
Speaker 2 (37:40):
You're the only one that could provide a solution. So
and that leaves me to.
Speaker 4 (37:46):
You want to make sure that you're solution oriented. That's
the word being solution oriented. Number two is look at
everything through a lens of can do.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
You really have exhausted everything in your ability and that
is not when you expected.
Speaker 4 (38:07):
It may be later on, but approach things with the
ability of yes, we can accomplish this, and that after
complaining a little bit, think about problem solving and then
having that can do attitude that we can we can
achieve with this goal or whatever it is. And then lastly,
be your your new self because your experiences.
Speaker 2 (38:31):
Who you are, your quirks, your.
Speaker 4 (38:35):
Personality, the way you dress has a place, so make
sure that you bring your unique self and your authentic
authenticity to the to the table with you.
Speaker 3 (38:46):
I love that those are amazing tips because we use
it in the industry.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
Anybody can use this, I hope.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
So yeah, thank you man for that.
Speaker 3 (38:55):
And for our last question, I want to ask what
is next for you in your career and what do
you have to achieve in the future.
Speaker 2 (39:01):
You've already told us a little bit about your PhD,
So what's it? Oh yeah, absolutely, yeah, definitely trying to
reach the ultimate top mountain, top of academia. Yeah, it's
definitely a challenge and it's a long way to get there,
but like I said, you have to be determined and
helping to get it done.
Speaker 4 (39:21):
Any obstacle that comes your way, you just feel like
it doesn't matter because I'm still gonna.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
Make it happen.
Speaker 4 (39:28):
I don't have it.
Speaker 2 (39:29):
It's not about if it's about wind.
Speaker 4 (39:31):
So yeah, and then career wise, I'm learning a lot
more about taking a little step outside of my engineering
role and getting into program leadership.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
Yeah, definitely something that I shied.
Speaker 4 (39:46):
Away from before, but in the role I am in now,
taking on a lot of the leadership responsibilities and delegating
and making sure that people are accountable for what they
are doing is something that I'm leaning into. So learning
(40:07):
a little bit more about the business side of the
defense industry. And so it's it's always it's not the
fun part. It's not the creative part. You can bring
your creativity to program management and things like that and
that does farewell for you, but there's a lot of
things to consider and it's all sometimes it seems like
(40:28):
everything's just dollars and cents, But you know you have
to as an engineer, that's a great.
Speaker 2 (40:39):
Skills have because you don't you don't see that part.
Speaker 4 (40:42):
You just see I just want to do this, But
those things cost and there's a schedule.
Speaker 3 (40:48):
And risk and risk and medication plan. Yeh, and it
all adds up, like you said, Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
Yes, it's the bigger pick.
Speaker 3 (41:00):
Sharing how the whole everything works together, not just the
end product, and why we're doing what we do and
what it all tracks Tom.
Speaker 2 (41:08):
That's super important.
Speaker 4 (41:09):
It's so important so that I can take that when
I do go backshop with my engineering love yeah, and
hopefully use that to make better decisions.
Speaker 2 (41:22):
I love it.
Speaker 4 (41:23):
Well.
Speaker 5 (41:23):
Thank you Mary for joining us today, thank you for
giving me, thank you for.
Speaker 3 (41:27):
Being a guest, sharing so much great wisdom and knowledge
your journey. I'm excited for all that it will impact,
and we're glad to have you today. So everyone like,
watch and subscribe and we will see you next time.
Speaker 2 (41:40):
Hi.
Speaker 4 (41:40):
Thanks
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