Corona and I am a proud mother of three aspiring technologists, my own Children who you see on the screen here, my daughters, Naa Noona, Zora Noona and my son Caleb. So let us, let me introduce you to the STEM family.So of course, you have to start out with me, April boy, Noona A K A mom and I am currently a global cybersecurity awareness manager at Cardinal Health. Then you have my oldest daughter Zara Noona and she's in the stem field in an interesting industry, the arcade industry. So she is an arcade technician and installer. Then you have my youngest daughter, Naa Noona, who is in a, a junior almost and civil engineer uh student and also uh an interesting twist of she has nearly traveled the world. She's a global trekker in addition to studying civil engineer and then my youngest Caleb Noona um is a competitive drone pilot. So, as you can see when we talk about the stem life or stem uh raising uh stem as uh uh uh as virus I have three. So our pathway to stem um one thing that I was very strategic with while raising my three aspiring stem technologists was that I uh embedded stem in almost everything that we did. Um whether it was spring breaks, whether it was taking them on college campuses to competitions, um even today to where we are on the road and we are public speakers sharing our journey. But I love featuring this particular slide because it allows you to see the evolution of our stem life equally. If not important, you see that we indeed enjoyed the progression together as a family. Also, you'll see that our stem life is a direct testament of the power and proof of starting early to introduce Children, our stem into a child's life. Now, over the years, I was very intentional and as I mentioned before in embedding, stem into nearly every facet of our life. It's true stem in and of itself is a part of lives in both known and unseen aspects on a daily basis. So while raising my Children, stem was a a part of, as I mentioned before, vacations and many weekends, I was that mini van toting mom that many people saw on the weekends during stem camps. Now, ultimately, as you see in the last picture here, um my Children and I and I are now invited to travel in keynote events to share our story of living a STEM life. So it can be very rewarding and engaging as a parent and family. So where did it all begin? Right. I get asked this all the time. Most innovation starts with somebody's mama, right, whether it's in the home or at a in a professional level or in the industry. So we talk about creating a digital pipeline, right? For the hundreds of thousands of open jobs. Well, early on in this global discussion, I decided to tap into my own family to ensure that at least three stem technologists would be prepared to launch a successful STEM career. But what I want you to know is the key factor as we all know is that my Children and your Children, they had to see it before they can be it. Right? And we, we heard the statistics, I don't need to go into that, but the proof had to be in the pudding and in my case, it was in my family. So my journey into STEM was a very rocky one. It was one that was not a straightforward path. Um I actually was forced into my career of cybersecurity. And so let me share a little bit more about that. So um when uh the cybersecurity, the industry was just beginning, right? No one really knew what it was. Few people could describe it, but we knew that it was a thing. Right? Well, at that certain time, I was um uh in a program where I was able to retool or res skill, um my skills for the future workforce. And I only had during that program, two options. One option was Welding. Nothing's wrong with it. Very lucrative career wasn't for me. And the the other option, cybersecurity. So I jumped right in and about this time my Children were in elementary and middle school. So when I talk about they have to see it to believe it. That actually was our life. So if I if you look at the slide here, um 10 years later, I'm affectionately known as the STEM broker. So what I did with these, these, these three technologists all under one roof is I covered all that information and those skills and the insight that I had and begin consulting other parents, educators, educational institutions on, you know, providing some type of game plan ro road map on how to keep our young or this next generation inspired to pursue, actively pursue a STEM career. So as I mentioned a little bit more about me, I am the Global Security Awareness Manager at Cardinal Health, um a Fortune 15 company, but I took all that knowledge that I had and I put it in a book, right? So in 2012, I wrote my first of many books of this one on the top five Rules of Engagement for parents raising a girl in STEM. Once again, as I mentioned in my earlier slides, typically, if something's gonna get done or something innovative is gonna come about, it's gonna be a mom, it's gonna be a female, most likely, right? I'm sure many of you in the audience will agree. But while I was on that journey of learning the ins and outs of cybersecurity and learning the future of the workforce, I fell upon also a love for emerging trends. And so I also served as the Global DE I advisor for the XR Safety Initiative. So X RSI is a nonprofit standard developing organization, one of the very few standard developing organizations within the realm of the metaverse and any emerging technology. And our, our uh mission there is to make sure that that platform metaverse or whatever the platform would be, we we really don't know specifically, but to make sure that there are diverse aspects, diverse realities, diverse persons that are present in that field. As you see today, I'm also a keynote speaker, three time author and once again, during my journey of, of reinventing myself, really, um I had the awesome opportunity to be a college professor, teaching cybersecurity also in the intersection of health information management. So you can't go wrong with that, right? Two of the best worlds of the fastest growing industries, globally, health care and cybersecurity. So I taught that for five years and missed that journey was awarded in 2018, the Minor Minority cybersecurity educator of the year. So I say that all to say the stem life can be a very, very lucrative, an enjoyable life. So to put some some pictures to that um in, in the, the far top corner, um the one with me and the flag in the back. Once again along that journey, I wanted to kind of up the ante and I ran for um a seat on the school board in our local area. And I won point to that even more. So I was the first black or African American female to run and win that seat in that district in over 50 years. So not only is it the stem life but you know, even on the education realm where it's a very crucial part as well. So let me next go to my son, Caleb Naron. This is the youngest of the crew and Caleb is a junior in high school and he started flying drones at the age of 12. He's 17 now and he has competed in drone racing for about three years. Um He kind of stumbled into that industry where there was a youth program in the city and they um had an open enrollment policy or open enrollment process and I just threw him in there and he immediately soared. So now he's at the age of 17 and he's just at the beginning of his long stem journey. So he has participated in a TED X youth event. The uh his skills uh has performed skills at fundraisers even just as I in my back principles have volunteered teaching drones, basic drone skills for youth in the urban core of the Kansas City, Missouri area. And it's a very proud moment for me as a parent. So I, I love sharing his humble beginnings kind of towards the left there of his natural progression for his love of but more important, not more importantly, but I'm very proud as you see the picture in the middle. And this was during a youth TED ex uh expo where formed his drone flying skills. And this was awesome. And as you can see in the picture there he is right there in that child's face. And so that at that moment, the room was still and we were all in awe of how and he had to be maybe 12, 13 at the time had progressed to this moment. Some of the other pictures that you see there are competitions on him that he won many of them, but equally if not want you to see is that he not only competed with those at his age, but he even comp with adults and wins as well. So what does that mean? Not only is he perfecting his skills, but he is also building his confidence level as well as many of the awards and in the competitions and win. But I'll get to confidence a little bit later have my middle child, which is my youngest daughter, Naa Noona and Naya is representing NSTEM represent her stem and about and then it really uh her senior year in school. So I'm old school. My daughter came home one day, naa came home one day and was interested in doing a gap year. I know, I know what the heck is a gap year. We don't believe in that. I'm old school. Right. So immediately the answer was no, but she did her research, she got information about it, lo and behold, she took a gap year for her senior year of high school. Right. Pivotal moment in a child's life, right? And through the uh through a youth exchange program, did a year of studying in Aba Colombia. I hope I pronounced that right in the country of Colombia. Now, this global experience ignited a whole new world for her literally, right? Literally and figuratively. And she's never looked at the world the same since then equally, if not more, if not more important, she is more keen to what her role in stem can be and its impact for the world. So as you see on the slide here, she is an aspiring civil engineer, um she just completed two semesters. So she's almost a junior um or two years. So she's almost a junior in her civil engineering uh pursuit, but she was a minor in water sanitation and, and once again, she took the gap year for her senior year in high school in Columbia. And I want to tie these two together because of that experience, that global experience at the age of what 17, 18, right? She is now on a mission to participate worldwide in making sure ensuring that there is sanitary water in most of the, you know, rural or uh uh regions where it's not there right now. In addition to that, during her experience as a college student, she has participated in a two week study abroad in Iceland. And I have some pictures that I'll show you too. She secured a summer internship at a water Sanc sanctuary in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. I'm not sure if she's gonna take it, but it was offered to her once again, really concerned with the availability of clean water for all. So she's even considering a minor in marine biology just because the experience life experiences is just pushing her forward within this stem field. Now, she is a natural global Trekker. 17. She took off did her senior year in high school abroad and she's traveled multiple places ever since then. A little fun fact about my daughter, Naa, she took a 30 day trek in Europe and was able to visit 19 different countries within those 30 days when I say global trekker, I mean it, but once again, she fell into her love of stem. It happened to be the e the engineering in stem. And once again, her world has blossomed and bloomed more than what I could ever imagine. Let me show you some pictures of that. So to the far left was her experiences when she was in Colombia she was interviewed there, um, the middle pitchers and those to the right chronicle her journey of in Iceland. And, um, and you can see in that third picture there where she's standing with her arms out, that's a glacier actually coming up from the ground, right? Who can talk about that? Not very many 20 year olds can talk about an experience like that. So when I talk about the stem life and I, you can tell in my voice how passionate I am for parents or caregivers or grandparents or whomever to really instill within their kids. Choose a, a stem life, choose a career path in the ste I'll even give the A for the arts and the m because it can be a very robust and vibrant life. And then my oldest daughter, my oldest child, oldest daughter, Zara, I talked a little bit about her in the beginning. But so she fell into the stem field in technology. So of all industries, the arcade industry. So, and I'll show you some pictures later where she um started down the uh the uh technician role. And then, as I mentioned, she is now working at a startup kind of spinoff startup industry. So she, her experience is one of the most um diverse ones, I'd say um the most um um relaxed and I guess kind of represents most of what the emerging workforce, uh future of work would look like as far as a workplace um, uh, she much like me has always lived to the beat of her own drum and so much so that after multiple internships that I coached her on to, uh, in, in, as far as securing a job in STEM, she found this position on her own. Now, don't ask me what exactly she does. She and a lot of STEM careers, I just have to tell you, we can't even explain what they do, but they just do it. And the beauty of her being an arcade technician and installer is the fact that she does it well. She does it so well. Zara is making more money than I did at the current age that she is. That blows my mind. But when I talk about, let's peel back the layers. When I talk about her journey into stem in the technology side, she is, as I mentioned before, a featured keynote speaker on being young black and getting into a stem career. She travels with me to speak about her own journey along the way. She um was a uh certified pharmacy technician. So this stem bug, right? Has has been in her blood since about middle or elementary school in high school. She was uh she earned and I mean, earned a spot as the first black F fa future Farmers of America VP in her school. And also in high school, she earned a selective, very selective summer internship at the Kansas City Zoo. Through their zoology program all while in high school. So what am I saying? You can see the natural progression from, you know, the vacations and the the the uh uh spring breaks and the the that science in infused activities that we did as a family, right? And now so proud to say that I can live and see the progression to where she is self sufficient, right? Making more money than I did when I was this age. And it's a powerful thing to see and this is part of her stem life. So let's look at some pictures here. The ones on the top. Um We uh on the far, my far left is when she, we both presented, I think this was the first presentation that we gave together. I was so proud of that and she actually ended up having more questions from the audience. So that was just a very proud moment. The other two on the top represent uh this was our first uh kind of like uh a, a graduation uh speech or, or um address to a cohort that was, that were graduating to become entry level. Um it and, and, and uh cybersecurity professionals. So that came full circle for us as well. And then at the bottom, I mentioned, I can't tell you what my daughter does, but this is some of the things that she works on um throughout her, her um with her job currently um with as being a arcade technician. So when we talk about STEM, some parents, some, some um um even educators get stuck on that. It has to always be tech in a cubicle, you know, same old, same old and working with the team. Stem, as I mentioned before, impacts every facet of our lives. And the more that I get out, the more that my Children uh share our story and our journeys as we travel and speak, we feel that that will actually cause a shift in the mindset of what is a stem life. What does a stem life look like? I'm giving you four examples today that it is a wonderful life to live. So when I talk about being an author and always getting asked the question, how did you do this? Why do you do it? How did you make this happen? You were a single parent, three kids, two daughters, one son, how did you do it? I was always bombarded with the questions, right? And so I thought, OK, let's pause. I'm not the first, I'm not the last parent to, to, you know, see the strengths and the skills and the abilities of my own Children. And I also am very passionate about talking to and helping and teach, train the next generation to help fill this hundreds of thousands of tech jobs that we're going to have to fill. So I wrote a book about it, right? And I, I put out five principles that along my journey with uh aspiring and inspiring my Children that I came up with were pivotal principles that every parent guardian would have your needs when they are around their Children. Um And want to instill within them to actively pursue a stem career rule. Number one is portfolio development with every program that I enrolled my Children in. I was very strategic and, and intentional with making sure that they left with a portfolio. Now, what does that mean? Some point? Um My youngest daughter went to a robotics camp and um she um it was an all day camp at a college campus and they did uh various stations. But the the the point of the whole program was that they would leave with the portfolio to outline what they did. They outlined a completion of a program or a project that they completed and they had to present on this, on whatever the project they chose for the day. Very proud moment. I think Naya was in middle school when she did this. One of the most powerful moments of that program that she participated in besides having a portfolio was that she was the only girl in that program. Mhm When I left her, I was uh my heart was pounding. I was nervous but she, she winged it. The instructors afterwards came to me and was like, we're proud of your daughter. And I'm like, I'm proud of her too. She's my daughter. But these are some of the things that parents would have to prepare themselves for your child may be the only, your child may be the first. She may be the only do, uh, uh, female in the room. But such is life because this will unfortunately will occur more times than not. So, when the statistics talk about starting them early, starting them early, it's true. It's true. But as parents or guardians or what have you or the coaches, we have to be the ones that are ready and prepared to help them get to that next level. Rule number two that I wrote about in my book is networking. Now, I'm not talking about the hard skills. I'm talking about those soft skills in the story that I shared with you before my daughter was able to, to develop, strengthen and even hone her presentation skills, her networking skills and rule. Number three, I mean, can you imagine how much that boosted her confidence even without me in the room? Right? But opportunities like that as the parent, as the guardian, we have to seek out for our Children. As I mentioned, I was very strategic in which programs that I enrolled them in because there has to be an end product, there should be some type of deliverable because even when we apply for jobs, what do they ask for a resume? Uh proof of knowledge, things of that sort. If, if your Children are building their portfolio year after year, summer after summer program, after program, when they're ready for that first internship, like my oldest daughter, they'll be prepared. The fourth rule that I wrote about in my book, the Top Five Rules of Engagement for Parents raising a girl in stem deals with stem centric support and allies. Now, I like to network soft skills. And one thing that I've very versed in is finding mentors and those that can actively actively support my Children during their STEM careers. So what does that look like? That was uh a robust community programs that were funded and had um active and engaged teachers or coaches em embedded within those programs that looked like reaching out to organizations that had, at least for my two daughters, women in leadership, they can talk to them and really tell them, look, this is real life skills, skills, building opportunities for you to pursue at this time and then allies. I can, I can't tell you how much, especially towards the end to the latter part of my career in cyber security where my male allies have really championed for me. So for those fellow out there, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You can always do more. Last but not least is the resume building, everything that my Children have done have been resume building opportunities, right? And so that is one thing that you need to be aware of as you're going through and, and creating the stem life. Thank you for your time today. Last but not least, feel free to contact us for uh to uh bring us to speak of your next event. Um I highly encourage everyone that is here today to uh actively proactively pursue a stem life. Thank you. Any questions. Let's see. I had one here. Oh, thank you, Angela Angelina rather. Um It is an amazing story. I I pinch myself every day when I think about setting an example. And as I mentioned earlier on, you know, it is about if they can see it, then they can believe it, it becomes that much more real for them. Any other questions or comments, feel free to drop them in the chat. Well, the contact information is on the screen. I look forward to speaking or seeing uh some of you all at another event. Um Definitely one that supports women in technology and thank you women in technology as well for the invitation.