The Girls in STE(A)M Club welcomed Kim DeCarlis – recognized as a 2010 Silicon Valley Women of Influence – to campus on January 26, 2017 to talk about how STEM sets a foundation for success.
DeCarlis earned a degree in industrial engineering from Stanford University and has a unique combination of high tech sales, product marketing and brand-building experience.
In a presentation held in the theater during MP, the Chief Marketing Officer at Imperva, a leading provider of cyber security solutions, talked about the value of pursuing a STEM education and shared how she uses STEM each and every day in her position.
DeCarlis said STEM helps her in
Developing a hypothesis and testing it in campaigns
Understanding the technical products and translating their benefits to customers
Knowledge of the engineering process to build software
Measuring success of work; managing budget
DeCarlis opted to pursue STEM because she was seeking a challenge. “I’ve always chosen the path that wasn’t so simple,” she said.
More importantly, she thought a STEM education would provide her with an opportunity for a successful career. “Success is multifaceted, and each of us needs to define our own success,” she said.
In addition to her work at Imperva, DeCarlis served on the board of Girls in Tech.
Girls in STE(A)M was founded this school year by Emma Wawrzynek ’17 and Kai Morton ’17 with the goal of encouraging young women to be more involved in the science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics field. The club moderators are science teacher Ming-Ching Wong and art teacher Brianna Loewinsohn. The club is open to everyone and welcomes male students who support girls in their pursuit of STE(A)M.