I love being an engineer. Here’s why.

I was pretty young when I knew I wanted to be an engineer. Actually, I didn’t know it was called ‘engineering,’ but I LOVED math and science and was jealous that my brother got gifts of model planes, helicopters and rockets. So, I saved my babysitting money to buy a model space shuttle kit. Dolls didn’t interest me unless they were piloting one of the flying machines I built. I loved discovering how things work. And if you know any engineers, you’ve probably observed that curiosity is a trait we all share.

Built to dream.

My parents came to the United States from Ireland and both worked extremely hard. They instilled a passion for education in me and my brother. We grew up believing we could be anything if we worked hard enough and stayed true to our principles and values. Our parents focused on our education and there was never a moment that I wasn’t certain I was going to college. As first-generation Americans, my brother and I were committed to dream big and knew when you work hard, opportunities are everywhere.

It’s all about teamwork.

They taught us that teamwork is critical and nurtured my love of soccer that started when I was six years old and carried on throughout college. On the field, I learned to count on teammates and coaches and also developed a passion for building strong teams. I played many positions, but found my strength in the midfield where you get to play both offense and defense. I learned that seeing the broader field to look for opportunities and setting up plays with my teammates is how you win. That focus on being a great teammate and partner has been an important factor in my career.

I married an engineer and we have two young daughters. Not too surprisingly, they are problem-solvers, builders, challengers of the status quo, continuously curious, and always asking ‘why?’ and ‘what if?’. When our children show enthusiasm for changing what is, or build something better, we feel better about our future. My girls are lucky to be in a school that offers robotics and coding and, as a champion of STEM education for young women, I couldn’t be more proud of them for choosing to take part in that curriculum.

Years ago, after finishing my degree in Chemical Engineering, I was fortunate to earn an internship through the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). I was placed with my first boss, Noreen, at the Center for Waste Reduction Technologies in New York City. Noreen inspired me to reach outside my comfort zone. I found a new way to develop a database and organize the technical content differently to better serve our customers and partners. Again, with hard work, teamwork and an engineer’s curiosity, my internship started my path from college to now leading engineers who are transforming Verizon’s networks.

The future is in our hands.

Verizon is a leader in investing in engineers as we lead the world into what Lowell McAdam and Hans Vestberg have labeled the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We’re enhancing the lives of millions of people around the world through technology. Contributions to those improvements will come from future engineers, scientists, mathematicians, entrepreneurs and brilliant problem-solvers, many of whom are young women. I am personally committed to supporting programs such as Women in Technology New York (WiTNY) to pay back the opportunity I had as an intern at AIChE. WiTNY identifies New York-area college students who are interested in tech careers and links them with Fortune 500 companies for internships. These young women might not otherwise have this kind of opportunity.

By 2026, it is anticipated there will be 3.5 million new computing-related job openings worldwide. At the current rate, only 17% of those jobs will be held by recipients of degrees in the U.S. Over the last 20 years, the percentage of computer science degrees awarded to women has been rapidly declining, from 37% to 18%. And while the number of women attending colleges and universities is at an all-time high, the percentage of those women who graduate with degrees in technology-related disciplines is less than 1%. Generating STEM-related interest in young women will help us strengthen the number of engineers who will contribute to enhancing lives around the globe.

This year’s group of WiTNY interns was challenged with a problem that has been an obstacle for our engineers for some time. They met for the first time, worked together as a team, and in less than three weeks, delivered a powerful solution. They learned complex processes, equipment, network configurations, and terminology, and then applied exceptional concepts in their development of an improved methodology that our team can implement. The interns came with raw skills and determination to succeed. We coached them to use their problem-solving skills in a team setting. We inspired them. They inspired us.

I wake up every day and come to work looking forward to learning about our customers, our networks, new hardware, new software, and thinking of ways my team and I can use technology to make the world a better place. Building a fiber-based network requires innovation, experience, dedication and a lot of hard work by our engineers. It is a privilege and an honor to be a part of the engineering team designing and building Verizon’s network. I am excited to celebrate National Engineers Week 2019 and our accomplishments so far, and I am very fortunate to be able to see them firsthand every day.