Get to know Angie a little more through her interview in this Rising Stars blog post.
Get to know Angie a little more through her interview (below) and connect with her via LinkedIn!~
Q: How would you describe your experiences of being a first generation college student?
A: It was really difficult because I couldn’t turn to anyone when it came to asking questions about “What do I do when this happens?” or “How do I navigate college?” It was like, “You got in...there you go!” and I was like, “Uh, Mom, help!”
I would go home and say that I got a 70 on a test and they would be like “What? A 70? Why didn’t you get a 100?” And I’d say, “The class average was a 55. That’s amazing--I got an A!” They didn’t understand that this is just physics.
Q: How did you navigate some of those challenges?
A: To gain more community, I sought out more LGBTQ people and went from one community to the next until I found oSTEM. I went to the oSTEM conference my fourth year, then fifth, and Out for Engineering I went to my fifth (year). It was late in my career, but something I can pass onto incoming students.
Q: How would earlier community access have improved college for you?
A: My experience would have been a lot easier. After my junior year, I put my application in online and got really lucky to intern at NASA, and was lucky at Harris later because somebody reached out to me on LinkedIn. So, someone’s looking out for me; but if I had known about these organizations when I began, I would have been a lot more intentional about getting internships.
Q: Why do you think students should seek out internships?
A: You really get to learn whether you prefer research or industry or want to do grad school before working, or after, or at the same time. My first internship was research based, so I learned a lot about scientific research, reading and writing scientific papers, and designing and presenting posters. My second internship was in industry. Interning was also my first time ever living away from home, so I got to experience what that was like while learning how to navigate as a young professional.
Q: What advice do you have for oSTEM members whose internship applications are being rejected?
A: Get involved in projects at school and expand your network through conferences. If I could redo undergrad, I would’ve gotten involved in a team project outside of class like Hyperloop, or an aviation project. You might need to sacrifice an extracurricular, but when you’re sitting at your dream job, it’ll be worth those extra hours!
Q: You also are passionate about your communities. Do you have any dream volunteer projects?
A: I spend a lot of my time volunteering for Out for Undergrad...which is specifically aimed at providing resources for LGBTQ+ undergraduate students who are pursuing engineering.
If I had an extra 24 hours each week to focus on a project, I would turn my Instagram page into a vlog on YouTube and make more in-depth videos to teach students and young professionals about professional development.
Q: You started your Instagram page as a Point Foundation Community Service Project. How has that project impacted your community?
A: I realized that there’s a gap between the education that LGBTQ students are given. We have to think about coming out at work or not. We have to be ready and prompt when people ask us inappropriate questions. I wanted a platform that is more accessible and more real. I created this page as a centralized space to discuss how navigating professionalism worked well for me as a queer Latina woman.
Q: Can you expound upon some of your professional challenges?
A: My biggest challenge has been getting my professors and coworkers to be more inclusive with their language. Since there are really no women or Latinx people around, those two identities have been a lot more salient for me at work. It is tough navigating bringing my LGBTQ+ identity into the conversation or finding other LGBTQ+ people...I’m surrounded by grown men that speak in such a heteronormative way that sometimes I feel as if I can’t speak up.
Q: How do you face those obstacles?
A: Resources that I gathered at NYU, oSTEM, and O4U have helped. I think the biggest help has been the connections that I’ve made through attending conferences. I attended over 10 in my senior year alone...I was able to find mentors and expand my network. Their advice and wisdom are making my transition into the adult-world a lot easier. Also, they sometimes know folks in the area or at the same company--you never know how connected someone really is!
Q: What has being an oSTEM member meant to you?
A: I think the greatest thing that I value about being in oSTEM is the fact that we have the opportunity to be surrounded by LGBTQ+ elders. I am always in awe speaking with an LGBTQ+ person who has been in defense/aerospace industry for years. I value literally everything that comes out of their mouth! Because of their resilience and activism, we have a lot more employment protections now and there are really no words to thank them.
Q: Any additional advice for our readers?
A: Start internalizing the idea that you belong in STEM. Every time that I interact with someone who is low on confidence or feels like an imposter in the classroom, I let them know, “You belong here”.
Lastly, when it comes to being yourself, be yourself. Other new hires at work tell me that I’m a little reckless for showing my tattoos and keeping my septum piercing because it goes against the norm. I tell them that being a woman in STEM is against the norm. Being a Latina in STEM is against the norm. Being a queer person is STEM is against the norm. It’s going to take time for coworkers to adjust to just one of my identities, so let them adjust to the rest of me that comes along with that, aka my super curly hair, my accent, my tattoos, and my visible piercings.
