Connect Canyons
Learning is about making connections, and we invite you to learn and connect with us. Connect Canyons is a show about what we teach in Canyons District, how we teach, and why. We get up close and personal with some of the people who make our schools great: students, teachers, principals, parents, and more. We meet national experts, too. And we spotlight the “connection makers” — personalities, programs and prospects — we find compelling and inspiring.
Connect Canyons
Ep 79: Women in Tech: How Canyons District is Leading the Charge for Women in Tech
US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said – “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn’t be that women are the exception.”
When it comes to our growing world of technology, women continue to work to bridge the gap in the tech field. According to a recent study in Forbes, women hold 26-point-seven percent of tech-related jobs across the country. That number was at 22-point-four percent back in 2019, and when you consider we faced a three-year pandemic in-between that’s a decent amount of growth but we want to see more.
In this episode of Connect Canyons, we sit down with four of the women working within the District’s tech departments, we hear their experiences getting involved in technology, and their advice for Canyons students looking to follow in their footsteps. We also hear from two Canyons students who have their sights set on a future in the world of technology.
Welcome to Connect Canyons, a podcast sponsored by Canyon School District. This is a show about what we teach, how we teach and why we get up close and personal with some of the people who make our schools great Students, teachers, principals, parents and more. We meet national experts too. Learning is about making connections, so connect with us.
Speaker 2:US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn't be that women are the exception when it comes to our growing world of technology. Women continue to work to bridge the gap in the tech field. According to a recent study in Forbes, women hold 26.7% of tech-related jobs across the country. That number was at 22.4% back in 2019. And when you consider we faced a three-year pandemic in between, it's a decent amount of growth, but we want to see more. Welcome to Connect Canyons. I'm your host, frances Cook. Today we're talking about all things women in tech, as the annual She-Tech conference is set for this Thursday. I'm joined by Janelle Myrick, canyon's district web manager, as well as Sammy Weynis, one of our system engineers for the district, christine Karchner, network engineer, and Sharon Simmons, business engineer. Ladies, thank you so much for joining us. Tell me, those are a lot of technical titles, right? I'd love to hear what each of your jobs entail.
Speaker 3:Sure, so my name is Christine Karchner. I'm a network engineer. I've been with the district for about seven years now. Network engineer works with the physical and the wireless infrastructure. We also manage the firewall and the web filter. So we're very much loved by the students.
Speaker 4:I'm Sammy Weynis. I've been with the district 15 years. I'm one of the system engineers. The only woman on our system engineering team which is I do love my team there's seven of us. Yes, and in fact, Christine's the only woman on the networking team. So we bring we bring a lot of empowerment to the team. I work behind the scenes as a system engineer over all of the iOS devices and a lot of Google stuff. So managing devices, deploying devices, interacting with the different systems, including land school.
Speaker 2:Very all-encompassing, yes.
Speaker 6:Hi, I'm Sharon. I am a business engineer with the district for going on 15 years now. I was one of the originals hired back in 2009. So through my course with the district, I was very involved in setting up a lot of our systems. My primary responsibility is skyward finance, but then I also support several other systems as well. I also have the privilege of working with our developers. So when somebody comes and says, hey, we need this, can you create this for us? I get to work with our developers. I ask lots of questions about what do you really need? How are you going to use this? And then our developers create you that application.
Speaker 7:My name is Janelle Myrick and I am the web manager for Kenyon School District. I am a full-stack developer and I maintain and overseas our 60 websites our family group of websites for the district.
Speaker 2:So what you're saying is you ladies run the district right. That's what I'm hearing.
Speaker 4:We like to think so.
Speaker 2:I'd love to hear how you all got started in tech. Did you just seek a job in the tech industry? Did one fall in your lab? Tell us how you got to where you are today.
Speaker 4:So I was working. I moved to the United States in 1990. I moved originally from Pakistan and I have a master's degree in international relations, and when I moved here I was doing retail work. I wanted to do something very different than academia. And then, six years into it, I got my first computer and decided that I wanted to know a little bit more about the inner workings of the computer. So I went back to school, got a Microsoft Developers degree and then, when the district was splitting up, my daughter was just going into first grade and I felt like, okay, it's time for me to. I'd been doing some consulting work and decided it was time for me to look for something full-time, since I would have more time, since she was going into first grade. And that was 15 years ago when the district was splitting up and Kanyans was looking for IT people in IT. So I applied and I have not looked back. I've enjoyed my journey so far.
Speaker 3:So mine's kind of similar. I wasn't into technology until I was in college. Actually, I was working at a rock climbing shop actually and we were trying to network some computers together and I was getting frustrated because I didn't understand how that all worked. And I was an English major at the time and I knew that I wanted a job that allowed me to stay on my feet and not just be behind the computer. But yeah, it just interested me networking and how that all works, and so I changed my major and I have brothers that are electricians and I helped them from time to time. So I thought this was kind of a similar lane, without being quite so physical. Sharon, how about you?
Speaker 6:Well, I'm feeling kind of old about right now. I started out in the early 80s. My first job, my first real job out of college, was with an insurance company in Houston Texas, and at that insurance company my responsibility was to manually calculate life insurance premiums.
Speaker 6:So, the premiums and the cash values of these policies. So when the company decided to go to a computer, we purchased an IBM System 36. So I was on that conversion team of converting from the manual stuff done on our PCs to the system. From there it grew into the technology side of operations, into managing a help desk, into managing developers and into just growing and doing technology work. From there Then worked for that company for 20 plus years and when Canyon's was forming as a district a friend of mine said hey, we're looking for great people, why don't you apply? I did and here I am. I was hired by Canyon's to set up a bunch of the systems, did that, and now we just continue to enhance them and develop even more.
Speaker 2:Wow, very cool, janelle.
Speaker 7:So mine's a little weirder. But I was born in 78 and I was the youngest of four so I got the hand-me-downs and things from everybody else and my brother and dad were really into computers. When I was a little kid we had this IBM portable computer and I was showing a picture to everybody. On the panel it's a rectangle with a tiny little screen with the green writing. Way back in the days, remember, we had just like. Then we use the floppy disks.
Speaker 5:So if anybody remembers the floppy app?
Speaker 7:So this was my play item when I was a kid, so my parents. When I got a little older I really wanted a Nintendo because all my friends had it. And they said no, because you have a computer. So the games I used to play were just now. You play a computer and it's just a simple file, or a game is simple file you download. But this was. You had about 25 of these floppy disks and you barely get through like a little part of your game and then you had to switch it out.
Speaker 7:So I have always been playing on computers my entire life. And then I also come from a family of scientists and teachers and so I am a blend of both. When I went into school I was looking into agricultural studies and so I was really intrigued by the tech in agriculture, because there's kind of a misnomer that agriculture is a little behind the times and it's got kind of a like podunk type of connotation that a lot of people in cities and stuff would think of it, and it's actually the opposite, where the technology in agriculture is actually leading the way.
Speaker 7:So I started working right out of school for a for basically an entity of the food and ag department for a county in California, and I worked specifically for a lot of pests and pesticide use with plotting on ArcGIS back in the days when it was pretty newer this was over 20 years, no, about 18 years ago and then I had my sons and I was able to stay home with them and then I started going back into the classroom and helping kind of teach, because I could sub and teach part time and I was teaching mainly in the STEM, agricultural biologies, technology Classes. And then we moved here and my boys were getting older and we moved here to Utah and I worked part time teaching STEM to K through five, which was phenomenal. I loved trying to get them excited into STEM and trying to teach them. It's okay to fail. It's okay to try because you got to always think outside the box. You got to just keep pushing, keep pushing. And these kids aren't really seeing that a lot right now or they would just want to give up after the first time. So I loved to kind of push them a little bit to think and show them what it's like out there and to encourage all of our kids, and especially at the time.
Speaker 7:There's only 24% of women in technology at the time and it was kind of interesting to see how they would wonder, because I told them back in the 80s it was about like 25. And then I said, well, what do you think it is now? And they said, oh, it's like 50, 50%. I'm like no, it actually dropped to about 24%. So it was interesting to see these kids see the projection should have been increasing and not decreasing. So I think it was really good eye-opening experience to show these kids what it is out there, just to give them a taste of what it's like out there. And then, especially here in Utah, we are a a force in technology, we have a lot of technology here and say, hey, you're right in the hot spot of it. So then I took this job where I'm at right now and then I love it. It's unique, it's a little different. I love working with everybody on our teams.
Speaker 2:You know, it's really cool to hear how each of you came into your positions from such different, for such different reasons, from different backgrounds, but yet here we are now, all part of the same team, you know, working to further the district. Janelle, you brought up a good point about STEM education and as a district we lean heavily into that STEM and STEAM program and I think we've seen a lot of our kids in the district participating in that, taking joy from that, learning new things. According to the Utah STEM Action Center, 92% of students who participate in STEM or STEAM reported an increased desire to have a STEM job when they grow up. So it's curious because we see that that drive here in our district. Yet, as we've mentioned, only 26% of women are in tech related jobs Found a recent article in Forbes that says women CEOs run more than 10% of the Fortune 500 companies and three of those CEOs are women of color.
Speaker 2:I think it's really important, as young students in general are growing, to see people that they can relate to in those positions of power. Right, you know you look up to women running companies, women in politics, women holding seats in positions of power, having that role model to look up to. I think, for me at least, growing up was such a big part of getting me to where I am today. I'm curious do any of you have role models that stick out to you, be it in your childhood or even even now as an adult?
Speaker 4:For me I would say my grandmother and my mother. They were both. We usually came from Pakistan and India and then they both got married really young, had kids when they were really young, but they went back to school and both became educators. So having that drive to be give more of yourself. You know families first, but they also wanted to do something, make a difference, and that spoke to me. So I became, of course, I'm a parent, I'm a mother and also hoping to. Like Janelle said, I'm a little slight, little slice, so I hope that I'm doing that as well. So it's beautiful.
Speaker 3:My role models aren't necessarily in technology, I would say I remember watching women that did hard things and just being attracted to that idea. So, like I'd watch famous rock climbers and doing these you know, climbing El Capitan, things that only men did and like why not? And just I thought, you know, the more fun part of watching them was when they didn't always succeed too, like the trying hard and the just doing things that are going to make you want to try again tomorrow.
Speaker 2:So handling adversity.
Speaker 3:Right, Right and technology to me. My job, information systems and networking gives me that.
Speaker 6:For me. I would say my role models go back to my early childhood. My grandmother, my mother, were very hard working individuals. We grew up on a farm. I was raised on a farm and watching my mother do the work that you would typically associate with a man. My mother plowed the field. She did the hard work and we were raised with that same. You get out there and you do whatever you do, you do it to the best of your ability. And then some and my mother was older, her, she only had a ninth grade education, but with that ninth grade education I think she was far smarter and could far surpass a lot of college educated people.
Speaker 6:For me, I was the first out of my family, I'm the youngest of five and I'm the first out of my family to attend college and to get a degree. So it was important to me to take that degree and use it and show my family that hey, look, this is what you sacrificed for me and this is what I'm doing in return. And I was able to help my family, some financially and some just all my nieces and nephews, encouraging them get to college, get that degree. You guys can do anything you want. I also one of my big influencers early in my life was my first grade teacher and I will never forget her telling us you can be anything you set your little heart to be. Just work hard and you can achieve it.
Speaker 2:That's wonderful Hearing about not only our mothers, but our teachers too and those people who just really helped to drive you. Janelle, did you have anyone too?
Speaker 7:My role models. Definitely I would say my mom, because I had a very, very similar with Sharon said. I also grew up in agricultural on a farm and my mom, who is one of the smartest people I know, had some junior college but got married pretty young, started having kids and all that stuff but also worked hard, physically worked hard, and she really pushed for me to go to school, to finish school. On times I wanted to give up. She angrily told me I would be finishing it. So good for you, mom, and that work ethic and that kind of drive and then seeing her wish she could have done that and just seeing how smart she was was just a great way for me to kind of power through overall my life struggles and things to get where I'm at. So I definitely think my mom.
Speaker 2:It's really beautiful to see again just how it doesn't matter where you were born. It doesn't matter how you were raised or if you grew up on a farm or you grew up in the middle of a city. If you put your mind to it, you can achieve what you want. I would love to hear your messages as women in the district, kind of leading that charge. You're in the thick of it when it comes to getting all of our technology where it needs to be, which is everywhere in our school system right. I would love to hear what your message is to Kenyan students looking for a future in the tech industry.
Speaker 7:I'll go first. First off, I really liked this project of doing this podcast because I really wanted to showcase the unsung heroes behind the scenes. Students see everyone in front of them their teachers, their coaches, their administration. They don't realize just how much impact that there are of staff behind the scenes, especially, as you know, their field trains for their webs, their computer programming, their actual machines that they're working on, and then our financial business being able to pay for all these classes and stuff. And they don't know because they just don't know.
Speaker 7:And I loved being able to kind of show them. Hey, there are strong people working, both male and female, and what I used to say in the classroom was like, okay, kids, let's support our women and girls, your sisters, your moms, your aunts, your friends. If you see somebody who wants to do it, be a good friend and support them through it and then, when they're struggling, just help keep them going. And I really wanted to showcase how Kenyan School District has 30% of women in tech, which is amazing. We're above the national average, which is 26%. So we are definitely showing our students what we're trying to teach them as well, and I love the girls who are doing sheet tech, who are becoming leaders, who are in high school starting to drive there path into their future in technology, and I just kind of wanted to show them. Hey, there's women all around you right now working behind the scenes helping you get that way. So they may not know, but hopefully now you do.
Speaker 6:I'd like to also encourage our students, your high school students. We have a fabulous program within Canyon's C-TECH, the Canyon's Technical Education School. What a great opportunity. If you're even considering anything in the technology field, we have that program out there. Go, take those classes, sign up for that, get that education. There's also technology. I mean we think of technology as being IT-related, it only, but think about the nurses and the technology that's used in hospitals. There's so much technology out there. In today's world we're a technology-driven society, but get out there and learn. We also have an intern program that we offer here, so there's so many opportunities for you to get out there and learn, be inquisitive, and that's probably one of the things I enjoy most about my job. For anybody that knows me, they know I like to ask questions.
Speaker 6:I'm always asking questions, and that is one of the big parts of my jobs. I get to ask questions, I get to ask the whys, the who's and the what's. So I always joke about the 5Ws. That's pretty much my life the who, what, where, when and why I mean. So don't be afraid, and don't be afraid as anybody, but especially as a female, don't be afraid to take on what has been perceived as a male-dominated industry. It doesn't have to be. We can change it Absolutely.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I would just echo what everyone has already said. You're not going to know whether you like it or not until you've tried something. So if just take that one class, you owe it to yourself, I think, to know whether you're a good fit or not. Maybe you're not a good fit, and that's okay too, but if you haven't looked into that class or, you know, talked to anyone about it, I think it'd be worth your time.
Speaker 2:We also wanted to hear from students taking advantage of the technology programs offered here in the Canyon's district. So we headed over to Jordan High School and we spoke with two seniors who are part of their She-Tech Student Council. We asked them why they felt it was important to become aware of all of the opportunities available to them within the technology industries at such a young age.
Speaker 8:My name is Adriana Barron. I go to Jordan High School and I'm a senior. I think it's really important for girls to participate in STEM, just because it broadens your mind so much. I mean, I was like a very naturally curious child and when I was introduced to like science and mathematics, like my brain went wild and I started just like I started executing better in class, but also like I found a love for it. So not only did it like help me like stay engaged in class, but it also helped me like widen my sea of opportunities that I could see myself going into in the future. I'm Paula Borges.
Speaker 5:Jordan High School and I'm in 12th grade, so I feel like every girl has some kind of story to share to the world. So I feel like, especially with girls who are interested in STEM and personally like an engineering, science, technology or math career path, they're very special, like I feel like they're very special to the world because there aren't that many girls or women that participate in such activities, like in technology or engineering or whatsoever, and so I feel like those kind of girls can make a change in the world by just being themselves really and just sharing the story and being an inspiration to other young girls who are also interested in pursuing a STEM career path.
Speaker 2:And then we asked them how they felt about that 26% of all technology jobs being held by women. Here's how they responded.
Speaker 8:It's very disappointing to hear that the number is still so low. I mean, my dad's an engineer so I remember going to work with him when I was younger and like all the guys in the office there was only guys in the office and I was like, oh okay, this is kind of weird. I feel kind of awkward. So it's kind of sad to hear that not much has changed. But I know we've been making strides forward. Like the universities I'm looking at attending they've really been advertising their increased numbers in women in STEM. So I know we're moving forward, but it's really sad to hear that it's still so low in general.
Speaker 5:It has definitely. It was definitely worse in the past, but I feel like nowadays we should definitely include more women to technology and just women in the workplace in general, not just STEM, just business, those kind of career paths. I feel like women aren't, as they aren't like taken as seriously as they should be. So I feel like, since we live in the world that is basically we live like in the patriarchy and that kind of stuff, so I feel like, since we live in a world that is ruled by men, I feel like women should also be included in leadership roles and being a manager, like a director of something or a company or whatever, or that kind of stuff.
Speaker 8:I'm deciding between my top three right now. Those are Colorado, school of Mines, which is the number three engineering school in the country, the University of Utah and then Utah State, and I'm planning on studying chemical engineering or biological engineering, with a molecular biology emphasis.
Speaker 5:So yeah, after high school, once I get my diploma, I will be able to work at Boeing, and they will also pay for my whole tuition at the University of Utah, so I can work as a level one engineer while I study mechanical engineering and with a minor in architecture studies.
Speaker 2:Both of these young ladies are already taking major steps toward their goals of careers in the technology industry, so we asked what their advice would be to other girls their age looking to do the same.
Speaker 8:I mean like for me. Growing up, I always was like, oh well, science and math are like for boys. That's not the case. I've taken so many advanced classes and I'm like one of the only girls in the room. But also, being that one girl in the room starts to make a difference, because last year there was four girls in my AP Chem class and this year there's seven. I mean, every year we're seeing these increases. So even though if you're like, scared to take that step forward, take that step forward. Get other girls into it, just because you're going to get others to follow you. Like you can be that first person. There always has to be a first person, otherwise we wouldn't be where we are today. So be that first person, take that first step and don't be scared to widen your horizons. So spread your wings and don't be afraid to be that first person.
Speaker 5:My advice would be that be confident, don't be afraid of showing what you're passionate about and what you want to pursue in life, and just be yourself really. Your story can make an impact in the world.
Speaker 2:Ladies, I really appreciate you all being here and joining us today. I think you've shared some wonderful insights and I hope we're looking at the next generation of tech leaders. So thank you all, thank you for having us. Thank you, thank you and thank you for listening. If there's a topic you would like to hear discussed on Connect Canyons, you can send us an email to communications at canyonsdistrictorg.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening to this episode of Connect Canyons. Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at Canyons district or on our website, canyonsdistrictorg.
