In this episode of the Transformational Pathways podcast, Anu talks to software engineer Stella Umunna. Stella, who hails from Nigeria and studied in the UK and now lives in and works in the US, is passionate about getting more girls and people of color in STEM. For Stella, getting more African people involved in STEM will mean more people working to solve important issues such as hunger, climate change, etc.

While joining Toastmasters has improved her ability to communicate with clients as well as the people she works with, Stella also talks about how her improvements as a public speaker have also affected her personal life and advocacy work. She believes that through Toastmasters, she will be able to reach more people and achieve her lifelong dream of seeing more women of color in STEM.

HIGHLIGHTS

• STEM needs more women of color
• Gamification as a delivery method for learning STEM
• Living in three different countries and the lessons learned
• Toastmasters improves both professional and personal lives
• Giving and receiving feedback is a skill that can be learned
• It's never too late to learn and improve

QUOTES

Stella: "As a female and software engineer of color, I've always wondered why there couldn't be more like me. Most of the time in any meetings I will have, you hardly see any women in our field. Also, you hardly see any people of color especially Black or African-American people. So I've made it my vision to get kids, K to 12, in to the STEM pipeline and help them develop a lifetime interest in Science and Technology, which is my specialty."

Stella: "The difference is that a lot of places like the US and in the UK too, a lot of money has been pumped into research and technology. And I think that's a main game changer. Africa's still a developing nation, so I guess we're still trying to solve all the infrastructure problems. That's one of the reasons why technology really isn't up to snuff, because we have to provide light, we have to provide running water and electricity for people. We're still trying to solve basic problems."

Stella: "Joining Toastmasters has helped me improve my communication skills. As part of my job, I need to communicate design plans and share ideas with my clients all the time. And now, I'm all ready to go as soon as my clients say, 'pitch me something.'"

Stella: "I really love the Toastmasters club. I don't know why I didn't join 10 years ago. But I guess it's never too late. Life is a life-learning process. You're never too old to learn, you can always keep improving yourself."

Connect with Stella and her work in the links below:

• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stella-umunna-741a746/
• STEMKasa (Learning App): https://www.stemkasa.com

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• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/toastmasters46/
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