Data Scientist, Kira Tebbe Kicks off Speaker Series at Northeastern
By Fiona Whittington
When she walked into the room, I thought she was one of the students attending the talk. Fresh-faced and well-dressed, Kira Tebbe did not look different from a lot of the students in the auditorium.
A recent graduate of Yale University, Kira’s talk was different than any I’ve ever attended. She was honest, personable, and eager to engage with her audience. Her anecdotes of hardship during college were all too relatable.
“I am so glad that Kira was our first speaker in this series. Since she is a new grad, I could easily picture myself in her shoes and see how I might kickstart my own career in a few years. I definitely relate to the pressure and fears she felt in college, that if I fail, then women are not meant to be in CS.” said Sreeya Sai, Director of Partnerships at SheHacks Boston.
Kira’s talk is the first in a year-long series called She</Speaks> that will feature young women in various fields of technology.
This past talk was held at Northeastern and will continue to travel to different universities each month. The goal of the series to equip women and femme non-binary individuals with the knowledge and networks they need to pursue their interests in technology.
“The biggest barrier I’ve faced as a woman in data science is the pressure of being the only woman in some spaces. If you’re one of a handful of women in a computer science class or on a technical project and you don’t do well, there’s an added fear that you’ll be seen as proof as to why women aren’t cut out for STEM,” said Tebbe.
For those of you that could not attend the talk due to homework or game of thrones obligations, below are 4 key takeaways from Kira’s talk.
There is a place for you in the STEAM world
“I wasted a lot of time thinking I wasn’t the right type of person to be a ‘Yale Applied Math’ major. I thought that it was somehow reserved for the people who didn’t need to go to office hours or who didn’t have to write copious notes during class or who got a 100% on a quiz. I struggled in classes, but I made it harder for myself by also believing that I didn’t belong. There are still barriers that face women in STEM, and women of color in particular, but don’t make it harder for yourself by thinking that you aren’t supposed to be there.”
Things get easier.
“I really like the phrase ‘if you’re going through hell, keep going.’ During my sophomore year, there were some classes I took that made me think I wasn’t cut out to do the applied math major or be in a technical field. But because of my supportive friends and TAs and professors, I got through those classes. And things truly did get easier. The fundamentals I learned in those early classes helped in later classes. Even more, I could look back on those challenges and think, ‘Ok, I got through that, I can get through this.’”
Using social support is essential, not a weakness
“I used to think going to a professor’s office hours or working in a study group was a sign that I wasn’t smart enough or good enough. But I now realize that doing those things are extremely beneficial. Beyond developing relationships with professors and peers, who can tell you about internship or job opportunities, you learn how to work on a team and reach out to potential mentors, both of which are advantageous in a job.”
Being authentic is an asset.
“I’ve gotten a lot of opportunities specifically because of my unique background in both sociology and applied math. Interviewers explicitly mention that they don’t usually see someone with my background and I can tie it to a lot of different fields. But beyond that, by pursuing exactly what I was interested in, even if it’s unorthodox, I’m now well-prepared for roles that are exactly what I want to do. ”
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