Engineering Career Journeys and Transitions

Leah recounted her journey from a mechanical engineering student to her career in the consumer goods industry, highlighting the challenges she faced, including discrimination and lack of social connections. She emphasized the importance of problem-solving and critical thinking skills in engineering and how these skills are applicable in various fields. Leah and Natoshia discussed the benefits of an engineering background, especially in terms of problem-solving and adaptability. Leah shared her experience of transitioning from engineering to procurement, highlighting the broader career opportunities it offered. Both agreed on the importance of risk assessment in career transitions and the need to prioritize personal wellbeing. Leah also shared her personal experience of taking a leave of absence from her work to assess her career trajectory and wellbeing, which led her to start a career coaching business.

Entrepreneurship: Freedom and Challenges

Natoshia and Leah engaged in a discussion about entrepreneurship, with Natoshia expressing her love for the field and its potential to help individuals find their purpose. Leah emphasized that entrepreneurship requires a different set of skills compared to working in a corporate environment. They both agreed that the choice between entrepreneurship and a traditional 9-to-5 job depends on individual needs and preferences. Natoshia and Leah also discussed the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship, with Natoshia emphasizing the freedom and satisfaction of being her own boss and Leah highlighting the difficulty of the journey but the absence of regrets. They ended the discussion with Leah suggesting the title "It's hard, but I don't regret it" for an upcoming episode.

Navigating Success: Black Professionals' Challenges

Natoshia shared her personal experiences of being the only black person in predominantly white classrooms and workplaces, and how these experiences influenced her decision to mentor and coach young women in STEM. She also mentioned her participation in the "Triumph in the Trenches" anthology project, which aims to highlight the challenges faced by black professionals. Leah discussed her chapter in the anthology, focusing on the challenges black professionals face in navigating success. She emphasized the importance of redefining success and the need to understand the unspoken rules and expectations in the workplace. Leah highlighted her goal of illuminating the challenges and rigged aspects of the system to help professionals make informed decisions about their careers and well-being.

Leah C. Murphy Bio
Purpose-driven, executive coach, author, and professional development expert with 15+ years of Fortune 500 leadership experience. Negotiation practitioner on a mission to teach 10,000 women how to negotiate for better compensation. Focused on transformative partnerships with companies and professional organizations to upskill organizational leaders while creating a differential impact to the bottom line through enterprise leadership strategy and operational execution clients through a custom set of proprietary tools.

Website: http://www.gemsforthejourney.org/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahcmurphy

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Empowering Women of Color in STEM

Natoshia and Kim discussed their professional connections and shared their enthusiasm for empowering women of color in STEM. Natoshia admired Kim's success and highlighted her dedication to creating a platform for underrepresented voices in the field. Kim, a blended learning specialist, shared her experience working on a project with the Flying Classroom, where she integrated technology into a curriculum focused on building a car and a plane with students. She reflected on her personal and professional experiences leading to this project.

Overcoming Fear of Computer Science Certification

Natoshia and Kim discussed the need for teachers to overcome their fear of computer science and obtain the necessary certifications to teach this course. Kim stressed the importance of teachers feeling comfortable and having sufficient resources to teach new initiatives, such as computer science and generative AI. She advised educators to take advantage of free online courses to familiarize themselves with these subjects. Natoshia mentioned that in Georgia, there was an initiative to have a certified computer science teacher in every school, though she was unsure if this applied to every grade. Kim also shared examples of other states, like Texas, that offer incentives and support for teachers to become certified in these areas.

Transitioning to Tech Company

Kim discussed her transition to a role as an educator advocate lead for a tech company, where she could use her experience of transitioning a school district online during the pandemic to benefit teachers, students, and staff worldwide. Natoshia shared her decision to resign from her current role at the end of 2023, a decision she had already informed her boss about. However, her boss initially disbelieved her, leading Natoshia to confirm her resignation and reveal that she had been training her replacement throughout her tenure. Kim expressed her admiration for Natoshia's thoughtful approach to her departure.

Team Leadership and Succession Planning

Natoshia praised a team member's leadership skills and suggested she should be considered for a higher role in the team, while Kim concurred with Natoshia's assessment and commended Natoshia's initiative. Natoshia also underscored the importance of having a successor and advised Kim to consider grooming a potential replacement. Kim then shared her journey from consulting to coaching other educators, while stressing the importance of living in the moment and learning from experiences. Natoshia confirmed that the show notes and links to the episode would be available for those interested in learning more about Kim's journey.

Bio of Kimberly Lane Clark
Kimberly Lane Clark, Ed.S. is an award-winning former 16-year educator and keynote speaker based in Texas. She is a Computer Science/STEM advocate focusing on crashing the digital divide for underrepresented groups, primarily women. She works to make an impactful change through innovative educational technology tools to provide access to learning for ALL and instructional design strategies. Kim is an experienced keynote speaker with excellent verbal and written communication skills.
She communicates effectively with internal management and external vendors. Kim focuses on a positive customer experience, attention to detail, and organization for every program she develops.
In her latter career, Kim has mentored and trained hundreds of educators face-to-face and virtually in Computer Science, STEM, Diversity inclusion, Edtech tools integration, innovation design, Blended Learning strategies, and Project-Based

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Episode Summary
Celebrating Women in STEM: A Golden Shoe Proposal

Natoshia Anderson and Xena, the founder, had a conversation on Natoshia's show, "Stimming and Stilettos," discussing the importance of recognizing and celebrating the beauty and intelligence of women in male-dominated industries such as STEM. They proposed the idea of a symbol, like a "golden shoe," to represent women in STEM fields. Xena emphasized the need for more women in the workplace to normalize self-expression, reduce jealousy and microaggressions.

Architecture, Diversity, and Inspiration

Xena, the founder of an architectural firm, discussed her role in overseeing building design, often comparing it to conducting an orchestra. She shared her personal journey in architecture, influenced by her father who instilled a love of design in her. Xena highlighted the lack of diversity in the field, noting that less than 1% of architects are black women. She also discussed her recent collaboration with Kimberly Dowdell, the first black female president of the American Institute of Architects, on a coloring book project aimed at promoting representation and inspiring children. The book was launched with a book signing at the Atlanta airport, which is run by black men. Xena emphasized the importance of showing opportunities to children and questioned the efforts of organizations in doing so.

Authenticity, Code-Switching, and Workplace Dynamics

Xena and Natoshia discussed the importance of authentic representation and the detrimental effects of code-switching, particularly in professional settings. They shared their experiences as black women in male-dominated industries and emphasized the need to encourage children to be themselves. They expressed concern about the pressure to comply with certain expectations and the potential for retribution if they didn't. They also discussed the challenges faced by young women and interns in the workplace, particularly those of color, and highlighted the importance of awareness about power dynamics. They emphasized the significance of platforms like their podcast, which provides a space for open dialogue and support.

Black Women's Struggles and Empowerment

Xena and Natoshia discussed the challenges they face as Black women, particularly the pressure to be perfect without making mistakes. They expressed frustration with expectations placed on them and the notion that they need to be superhuman to succeed. The conversation highlighted the need for fair pay and treatment, and the importance of not perpetuating the idea that they need to be better than their non-Black colleagues. They also touched on the importance of self-respect and individuality. Xena suggested that they should have the courage to challenge such thinking, even if it meant confronting older African Americans. The conversation concluded with satisfaction about the changing attitudes in society.

Bio of Xena Stryker

Xena is where Architecture merges with Imagineering! Stryker is a community-driven Architectural Firm CEO committed to reconstructing underserved communities while expressing the client’s culture through eye-popping art and creative design! Her firm’s niche is “Dopamine Design” as she’s known to bring structures to life…With A Twist… by adding bright colors, sophisticated furniture, and exciting activations inspired by nostalgic music! Xena has designed construction documents and renderings for more than $475 million in city, state, federal and private construction projects across the United States of America!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/architectbae/
Websit

Support the Show.

You can find out more information about Dr. Toshia here:

https://www.drtoshia.co

STEMming in Stilettos Youtube Channel: https://youtu.be/xAc25J7UH9A