Katie

Engineering

My journey into STEM can be traced back to a quick web search in high school. I loved math and was on the hunt for a college major that would allow me to study math for as long as I could. That’s how I first learned about engineering.

I selected Olin College of Engineering for its small size and innovative hands-on engineering program, and I decided to concentrate in computing based on my experience with Java programming. As a deaf student, Olin was perfect for me—its small and intimate classes made it easy for me to lip read, and I never felt uncomfortable asking professors or classmates to repeat themselves.

At Olin, I learned how to design products and services that meet real user needs. I put those skills to use during my internship at the University of Washington (UW), where I worked on a project called “ClassInFocus.” ClassInFocus brings all of the information that might be presented in a mainstream classroom (captions, videos, slides, and notes) onto one screen, making it more accessible to deaf students. I loved my first real taste of how rewarding it was to work on assistive technology!

During that same summer, I had the opportunity to visit companies like Microsoft, Google, and Adobe with students in an AccessComputing program called the Summer Academy for Advancing Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Computing. We learned what it was like to work in the tech industry, and we met several Deaf professionals in the field.

In my senior year at Olin, I applied for a program manager position at Microsoft. It felt like a perfect fit for the design and management skills I had acquired. I got the position, and I’m currently on the Microsoft Word team. It’s still hard for me to believe I’m designing features for such a popular product. It’s hard to say where my STEM journey will take me next.

Microsoft has excellent accommodations for deaf employees. Interpreters and captioning are available for all meetings and events. While I still face challenges, I have great co-workers who understand my needs. They’re happy to repeat things when I ask and even remind each other to face me while they’re talking.

Since starting at Microsoft, I’ve returned to visit the Summer Academy at the UW, and I have spoken on various panels about my experiences. The advice I give is to always advocate for yourself, to be persistent, and to use the resources available to you, whether it’s reaching out to people or requesting accommodations. It’s fun and rewarding to share my experiences with others and hear their stories and advice as well.