Takeaway Paragraph

Ms. Nair and Ms. Kostas had a lot of great insights in the actual computer science field at Qualcomm. Ms. Kostas gave an important story about how even though her original major of study was different from the current work she does, she was still able to switch over into a different field of STEM after college. Personally, I feel like there is a lot of pressure in trying to study a certain major in college, but her story reassures me that I will still have time even if I don’t really know what I want today or in 4 years. Ms. Nair gave a big focus on her human development, talking about 3 tenets of her success. She started with tenet 1 of staying curious, and gave a personal anecdote of her childhood and her curiosity since a young age. She got an electrical engineering degree and joined Qualcomm directly through an internship, highlighting the importance of connections directly through college. Tenet 2 was leading from any chair. Just because people have seniority and more experience, it doesn’t mean that you cannot still contribute and be a key player in any room. Tenet 3 was beginning with the end in mind. Invention is creating something new, innovation is improving on some technology before. Product managers connect innovation and invention. They begin with the current state and think about the end state and then begin to execute. Having the final picture in mind is more efficient and important to carry through a result. She then talked about smart homes and the power of technology to fully immerse someone into an experience. Ms. Kostas’ presentation resonated highly with me. I too feel like I enjoy too many subjects, and don’t really know exactly what I want to study in college. She gave a story about an Intro to Java class and how she enjoyed building something by herself, and which also struck a chord with me, as I feel we are similar. I could tell she knew exactly what she was talking about, and her knowledge really impressed me. Makes me feel hopeful for the future as well, that it is not necessary for me to be sure of what I need to do, and instead that I can keep learning until I find something that I truly enjoy. Ms. Kostas and Ms. Nair spoke very eloquently and taught very strong life lessons that I will definitely use in my own life.