This post is part of our World Pitch Recap, and was written by Meghana, one of our stellar Student Ambassadors from the United States! Megana generously shared her experience of a field trip to Autodesk. The field trip included a tour of Autodesk’s unique space, as well as a panel of women working in tech offering insight into their professional journeys.
On August 14, I got a glimpse of the future. From touring around the gallery to meeting industry professionals, Autodesk gave me insight to the several creative and innovative possibilities it has to offer to the world.
Following a traffic-heavy bus ride to San Francisco, a bold and passionate brand ambassador, Mary Stevens, greeted us and walked us through the Autodesk gallery. This room was concentrated on visionary examples of technology from around the globe. This did not include hard drives and motherboards, but ingenious products that intersected both art and technology – like the Biome by Mercedes Benz. By using Maya, Autodesk’s 3D design software, the world-famous car company created a futuristic vehicle that releases oxygen once grown from a seed, mimicking plants. Combining principles of living and nonliving worlds, , this out-of-the-box design could be the key to an eco-friendlier world.
After taking hundreds of pictures of 3D-printed shoes and reading about phase-changing material at the gallery, we met a diverse panel of women change makers with unique powerful stories to share. The Vice President of Engineering Practice, Minette Norman, majored in French and drama but landed roles in technology through hard work and an acquired skill set. The Manager of Global Diversity Partnerships and Alliances, Queen Denchukwu, originally lived in Nigeria but had to adapt to college in the United States. Jessica Boyd, the Senior Manager of University Recruiting, had intentions of working for a theatre company before getting introduced to the tech world. Chanda Foucher, an intern, tested the waters in medicine, management, and finance before working at Autodesk. Data scientist Yizel Vizcarra was the first in her family to attend college. And, finally, Senior Software Engineer Harshita Bandlamudi majored in computer science without prior programming experience.
All of these women made me realize that life is not going to be one perfect sequence of events. Life will be made up of several paths that may be unexpected or barricaded. As a sixteen year-old, I unnecessarily waste my time worrying if I am making the right decisions for my future. But, after listening to the panel, I realized that life is not going to fall into a linear pattern of success; instead, I will have to pivot and take new paths to achieve goals I never would have fathomed before. This event at Autodesk was very empowering and uplifting, and I am glad I got to step foot into one of the most forward-thinking companies of the world through Technovation.
Meghana Karthic is from New Albany, OH. She participated in Technovation Girls in 2018 and 2019, and became a Student Ambassador in 2019.