In 1959 my
grandmother, a teacher in a low-income area in Northern Nevada, appeared on the
popular show, “Queen for a Day.” Her wish, if she were to become “Queen,” was that
each child in her school would have milk every day. While she didn’t win, it
wasn’t long until a federal program provided weekly milk deliveries to the school.
Children had milk every day, and even took milk home for the weekend. Statistics
eventually showed that her school outpaced all similar schools in the United
States for milk consumption.
The clock she won
that day occupied a place of honor in her house for forty years, and when she
passed it came to me. More than just a
reminder of what time it is, it has served as a reminder for me that there is
always a way. No milk for students or
money to get it? My grandmother went on
a game show. No paper for students to
write on? She went to the Court House
and got old ballots and write on the backs.
No books for the students to read?
She collected comic books and magazines for them. There was always a way.
As
I look back on my undergraduate career, I realize that “there’s always a way”
could be my catch phrase. I started
college as a French major (Technical Writing and Translation) but got
distracted along the way to my degree.
30 years later, I am set to graduate in ten days with no student loan
debt. Working at universities and taking
advantage of tuition assistance and Qualified Tuition Reduction may have
lengthened my college career, but I’ve finally reached my goal. There’s always a way.
Since
2018, I’ve been fortunate to work at Tech Launch Arizona (TLA), helping
University of Arizona researchers find a way to commercialize their inventions
and create impact beyond academia. In my
current position I manage a National Science Foundation-grant funded program
(NSF I-Corps) designed to teach customer discovery skills to innovators who
want to become entrepreneurs and start their own companies. Historically, teams
that participate in this program are led and mentored by men, and with help
from my TLA peers I’m working to encourage more women inventors to think about
commercialization as a viable path for their work. I have also been actively recruiting women
and BIPOC mentors for the participating I-Corps teams. At this time, I’m developing a “mini I-Corps”
program for female innovators based on Ohio State’s REACH for
Commercialization
series. I expect to hold the first
cohort in Spring 2021 and teach women researchers at the University of Arizona
that there’s always a way for their work to make an impact.
Because
I’ve worked so closely with entrepreneurs during my time at TLA, I’ve developed
an appreciation for the process, and I’d like to help others through it. I believe that by earning a Master of Science
in Entrepreneurship I can be not only a more valuable employee at the
University, but I can help forward the goals of Tech Launch Arizona by
assisting more of our researchers commercialize their inventions. I also plan on pursuing a graduate certificate
in Human Rights Practice when it becomes available, to help women and BIPOC
inventors find the way to surmount the obstacles they face on their way to
entrepreneurship.
There’s
always a way.
