The BHS Networking Night committee organized a discussion on Wednesday, Nov. 20 in the 22 Tappan cafeteria, hosted by the Brookline Robotics Initiative, for students to hear advice from professionals in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) industries.
Following the first event that focused on medical careers in April of 2024, the STEM Networking Night worked to give students a glimpse of fields they might be interested in. It began with a panel of six professionals—Adam Rizika, Steve Luby, David Hwang, Ram Krishnan, Leena Gandhi and Maria Rose—who responded to questions regarding their backgrounds and how students might move forward in certain careers.
Out of the many specialties represented on the panel, Luby brought his perspective as an electrical engineer. With an undergraduate and master’s degree in mechanical engineering, he began his career mainly in software engineering. He then founded Vistagy, Inc. in 1991 and sold it to Siemens Digital Industries Software. Now, he mentors and invests in small companies around Boston.
Luby said his field needs people who can work together and learn in the engineering field to face important challenges.
“We need to encourage as many people as possible, especially women, to consider engineering. A good number of the problems facing us going forward with climate change and so forth are going to have some aspect of [a] technological solution,” Luby said. “I continue to be impressed. There are good questions, good senses of humor. I would have loved to see more people like that when I was going to hire people.”
According to senior and member of the BHS Networking Night committee Anna Dencker, the diverse stories told on the panel inspired hope despite the demanding nature of the field.
“It’s optimistic because I know it can be really hard to think about embarking on an engineering or STEM career,” Dencker said. “It’s a lot of hours, and people say it’s hard, so it’s nice to hear so many different types of people who are doing it and who have so many different interests.”
After the panel, the event moved to an open format where students were able to engage in direct conversations with the speakers. The committee helped moderate the conversations with handouts that listed possible questions and ideas. Dencker said that without much experience in situations like this, students might feel more comfortable with the support the handouts supply.
“I think it helps students so they feel less awkward approaching a professional and it’s their first time interacting with an adult this way,” Dencker said. “It’s beneficial in the way that you have a few questions, so you have some idea of what to ask them.”
Junior Max Nosal attended the event and said what Luby described on the panel served as a window into the world of engineering.
“He said he worked on the software that Boeing used to model their aircraft,” Nosal said. “I never really thought that someone has to make that software and actually make it before the companies use it.”
In addition to debunking the stigma that career paths often follow direct paths, Luby said that people with any background and education can succeed in other fields.
“Cultivate curiosity and pay attention to what sparks your interests,” Luby said, “whether it’s in the news or it’s people talking about climate change, because that will turn into something you love and do.”
