We asked some of the women at COLSA to tell us about one of the moments they realized they wanted to pursue a career in STEM. We’re inspired by these women and others like them who are helping to shape the future!
Lorin Bales, Data Scientist
Growing up, I never paid much attention to the night sky or what lay beyond our planet. I was too busy with my own personal struggles and the monotony of being homeschooled on five acres. However, as a teenager, I began to notice the beauty of the night sky and the mysteries that lie within it.
One Spring, I purchased an old 1967 Newtonian telescope. The optical mirror was larger at 10″, and due to the size of the telescope it had limited mobility via wheels from the garage to the driveway. I had the mirrors resurfaced, and was surprised by the detail that I could see in the Moon’s craters, mountains, and seas.
Lorin Bales reflected in the optics of her 1967 Newtonian telescope.
But my unforgettable moment of being inspired by astronomy came with the Summer and the rising of the Milky Way above our pine trees. The Moon’s craters, mountains and seas were nothing to the thrill of pointing the telescope towards what appears to be fuzzy patches in the Milky Way and discovering that these were our nebulas (a birthplace of stars) or open clusters (a tight grouping of stars). Although nebulas are millions of light years away from us, you can still make out hints of color and the wispy details of the gas with your naked eye.
The Lagoon Nebula 1400 light years away in the constellation Sagittarius.
As I continued to explore the night sky, I stayed up for hours hopping from one fuzzy patch to another noticing the variety of hues, colors, and shapes of the nebulas. The series of nebulas that I saw that Summer grounded me, with my feet firmly placed on the asphalt of the driveway and the endless possibilities of the universe literally before me.
This experience broadened my perspective; I could see that I was a naïve young woman on a Pale Blue Dot orbiting and hurtling through space. These moments grounded me in the present moment yet inspired me to attend UAH and work diligently towards my physics degree and later pursue astrophotography with the same telescope from my teenage years.
These inspiring moments also fuel me when mentoring young high schoolers from ASCTE, interns from universities, or our young Data Scientists. I want the young people to be inspired by their time at COLSA, developing technically and intellectually in a professional collaborative environment. Although I am grateful and fortunate for my experiences in my early career, I do hope our young professionals’ growth opens doors and opportunities that may not have been available to me in high school.
Alexa Fort, Data Scientist
My career’s always been changing, but at the core of it, I learned that I will always love problem solving – problem solving that helps people. Somewhere between high school and the middle of college, I had some amazing professors who struck me with how complex biological systems were – how complex the immune system is – and I wanted to figure out as much as I could. I wanted to understand and solve these problems.
Just before graduating from college in 2012 (see picture to the left), I learned that I love immunology.
My career started with a focus on supporting research and development in immunology, which eventually led to me going into computational biology and genomics. Then, opportunities with machine learning and artificial intelligence blew up, and these new tools only aided in solving problems.
At the end of the day, “data is data” no matter where it comes from, but being in STEM helps me solve problems.
2024 Pi Day at COLSA, where Alexa presented her research to the company.
Elissa Miller, Data Scientist
Up until I sent applications to colleges, I thought I would go to school for Music. When it came time to make choices, I decided a life filled with endless auditions didn’t sound appealing. Instead, I opted to follow other passions (math, puzzle solving, and looking at interesting and pretty pictures) to earn a BS in Astrophysics.
Since entering the work force, I learned that alongside my technical knowledge my creative tendencies are still very much needed in the STEM workplace.
Elissa visiting Eglin Air Force Base.
I am thrilled to use my mixture of skills to lead a team of brilliant younger scientists, communicate research and development work to people of various backgrounds and leadership levels, and push forward critical applications of Artificial Intelligence for the Department of Defense.
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