At the time of writing this, it has been a little over a week since SciTech and I am currently reminiscing on my time spent in Orlando as a student panelist with Higher Orbits. I am beyond grateful to have been given the opportunity to share my aerospace journey with conference attendees one last time as an student. With college graduation right around the corner, it was a privilege to share my appreciation for Higher Orbits and all this organization has done for me before I enter the workforce.
If you read my previous blog, posted on January 3rd, 2024, you have heard of all the incredible experiences I have been a part of during the nearly eight years I have been involved with this amazing non-profit organization. It was so great to be up on stage in the expo hall and get to advocate for Higher Orbits and share all that they have done to help me get where I am today as a soon-to-be college graduate.
As a young professional with a few internships under my belt and a full-time job on the horizon, attending SciTech was a great experience to engulf myself in the topics and new technologies that are playing out in real time in industry. From in depth conversations on the application of AI or how to better manage quality in additive manufacturing, I was able to attend Forum360 sessions and technical paper presentations that widened how I look at the field I am about to enter. I even had the chance to attend the presentation of a fellow CU Boulder student senior project research! Those few days in Orlando allowed me to network with like-minded individuals and grow my connections with the companies I am soon to be working alongside.
While the technical research panels were great for going into dept on topics I was interested in, I feel as though the best panels I attended were the Q&A style sessions that were focused on women in the work force. The second day of SciTech, I attended a forum called Establishing Digital Culture – Enabling New Ways of Working that consisted of five women from diverse backgrounds, all speaking on the same subject. It was so great to listen in and hear these panelists’ opinions while not having the entire conversation revolving around the fact that they were all minority leaders in industry. On this same note, the last event I attended at SciTech was the Women at SciTech Panel and Social Hour where attendees were able to submit questions to the fully female panel and the conversation was intentionally centered around the difficulties and challenges of being a woman in STEM. These panelists had a variety of backgrounds as well, ranging from miliary research to the current Society of Women Engineers president. This range of experiences in STEM allowed for a very open and natural conversation on topics that are typically tip-toed around and seen as ‘hard’.
A quote/idea that really stuck with me from this session was the fact that the moment you try to fir into the environment you’re in, is the moment you stop adding the world around you; that being yourself is what allows you to think differently than your colleagues and bring new though processes to the table. The Women of SciTech Panel was the perfect way to wrap up my time at the conference!
It truly was a great week in Orlando, and I am beyond fortunate to have been able to attend and represent Higher Orbits. I may sound like a broken record at this point, but it was so wonderful to be able to share my love for this non-profit organization one last time with the title of ‘student’. I plan to continue to be an ambassador and advocate for Higher Orbits as I enter the workforce but it is always so welcoming to know I have some great people and organizations in my corner, always cheering me on.
Written by Stellar Student Abigail Youngker
