ANGLEC’S WOMEN IN STEM – 2019 WOMEN’S DAY CELEBRATION

This year ANGLEC will be joining in the celebration of International Women’s Day/Month for the first time by featuring the stories of women in STEM  (Science, Technology Engineering and Math) related posts/functions at ANGLEC and promoting the official IWD theme for 2019 #BalanceForBetter.

GETTING TO KNOW HER

Jeritza Samuel,

My name is Jeritza Samuel. I am currently employed with the Anguilla Electricity Company Limited (ANGLEC) as a Technical Services Coordinator – in the Transmission and Distribution (T&D) Department. This position requires me to make use of GIS programming on a day to day basis but my journey to grow into the employee I am today did not start there.

I was born on the island of St. Maarten to Maysel Samuel and Calvin Smith. I am the second of three biological children. We migrated to Anguilla in 1994 where I attended the then, Island Harbour Primary School and then later the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School.

I first started working with ANGLEC as a student trainee in 2002. In 2003 ANGLEC welcomed me permanently, as the second female to be hired in a technical capacity. To date, I believe I am still the only female to have worked directly within in the company’s generation plant. In 2006 I became the first female staff member with an engineering back ground after achieving my Associates Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College in St. Lucia. Since then the company has grown and so have I, but my growth still continues with my desire to further my skills and knowledge.

My drive for knowledge led me to what was then the Community College Development Unit. There, I pursued courses in various areas like, Energy Conservation & Plant Maintenance, Supervisory Management, Human Relations and Conversational Spanish among others. Once the college was fully established, I went on to complete Basic Electrical Installation, Electrical Installation Level 1 and Basic Motor Vehicle Repair & Servicing.

Because of my love for Technical Education I became a member of first, the TVET Advisory Council (2011 – 2013) and later the Anguilla TVET Council (2013 – 2015). In 2015 I was also the STEM Fair Keynote Speaker (Women in Technical Occupations). I have also assisted with the facilitation of the Girls Get Tech Camp (2015 – 2017) and had been a A.L.H.C.S Science fair judge from 2009 to 2016.

My interests outside of work can be summed up in one word, “service”. I have been involved in the Ambassador Pathfinder Club in Anguilla since 1994 and in 2001 I took up a leadership role within the club. For over 20 years, service and giving back has been ingrained in me. I have also been involved with numerous other youth organizations (National Youth Council, Youth Ambassador Core, Tranquility Steel Band, Anguilla Pepper Steppers) during that time. Currently my main focus is the Rotary Club of Anguilla, in which I have been a member for the last three years. This year I will be taking up the mantle of President.

1. What is your favourite song?

 I don’t have one. I grew up listening to a lot of gospel, country and western and calypso; so if anything calypso would be my favorite genre of music.

 2. What is your favourite hobby?

I don’t have one. There is so much that I love doing; writing, dancing, singing, sports etc. I would have to say anything that I can get hands on with would be my go too. I love building and making stuff.

 3. Who was your role model growing up and why?t is your favorite hobby?

Tr. Kendra Brooks (R.I.P) – She pushed me to be the best version of me I could be. She had this class motto: Good better best, never let us rest, until our good is better and our better is best. My mom still says that to me when she thinks I am not putting my best effort forward.

4. What is was your favourite subject in school?

I didn’t really have one. I enjoyed anything that took me out of a formal classroom setting and allowed me to use my hands and my imagination. Anything that fed my curiosity and creativity were always a win. If I had to choose specific subjects, Technical Drawing and CDT (Craft Design Technology) were the closest to this.

5. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life what would it be?

Pasta! (any kind but sea food) and plantain.

6. What is your favourite part about your job?

The versatility. GIS is such that it allows for intertwining of just about any aspect of the company. Simplistic explanation, GIS is a means of manipulating large amounts of data easily and pushing that data out in many forms; graphs, maps, charts, excel file etc. I still don’t like traditional so being stuck in an office all day doesn’t work for me. GIS allows me to marry the field, my love for hands on, my need for creativity and the office all in one. With GIS, if you can imagine it there is most likely a way to get it done.

7.What would you say is the hardest part of your job?

While GIS has been around for some time, its still fairly new in some regards and it sometimes poses a challenge to ensure you are getting the maximum use out of what is a very expensive program.

BALANCE FOR BETTER WITH Jeritza

The official theme for International Women’s Day 2019 is “Balance for Better”. Balance for better means fighting for more gender-balance in the world.

1. Why do you think gender-balance is important?

Limitations serve no one. If we had limited minds like Einstein and Benjamin Franklin, where would progress be now? The movie Hidden Figures is a great example of what women are capable of when we are allowed to dream. My dad figured his daughter could do anything his sons could do. To that point, I was not restricted in most things. Today I am grateful for that, because I was allowed to let my passions grow. Too many times we try to tell persons how far they can go. Its like trying to tell a bird how high it can fly. They never reach their full potential if we are busy holding them back. There is much greatness in our generation that’s locked away by the restrictions we place on them.

2. In your opinion, how could men and women work together to create a more gender balanced world?

By Tolerance, acceptance and open-mindedness. By recognizing that your gender doesn’t decide your work ethic or standard; your character does. We are still hung up on gender assigned roles instead of focusing on the work ethics and standards being brought to the table.

3. How do you find ways to thrive in a male dominated field?

For lack of better words, I just do me! Every day I am being paid to do a job just like my male counter parts. I play to my strengths and not to my male counterparts own. I don’t ever kid myself that I will ever be as physically strong as my coworkers. Its not possible. So, what I focus on is what I have to offer. I am good at quickly grasping concepts, I am good with numbers and programs, I am good with hands-on and I am sure not afraid to get dirty and work hard. So, when I have a job to do, I make sure do it to the best of my ability. I make sure I give 100 percent every time that I can. I am not afraid to say I don’t know, and I need help. I am not afraid to speak up if I know and someone else doesn’t. I look at my coworkers as just that coworkers; not male or female. Just people who come to the same job I come to everyday to accomplish one goal; to get our job done as safely and timely as possible. I also don’t play to my weaknesses. That’s very important. Sometimes women work in a very male environment and they tend to play the “fairier sex”. If you want to be seen as an equal there is no “fairier sex”. You got to pull your weight like everyone else. I found that with consistency and good work ethics, most persons, male or female, acknowledge that you are competent enough to do your job.

4. How do you achieve work/life balance as a working woman?
   

Work / life balance is hard. Some days my son thinks I am super woman. Lol. I remember the first time he saw me play football and he was like “Mommy is there anything you can’t do?” truth is there is much I can’t do and probably never will. Balance for me is making sure I give a fair days work for a fair days pay and making sure my son understands what my parents gave me; the knowledge that he can do anything he sets his mind to. His only limitation is his imagination.

Outside of that it comes down to a lot of planning, prioritizing, trying to manage my time effectively and lots of open dialogue with my family. Family time and support is very important, and I have a great deal of that. For that, I am forever grateful. It doesn’t come without some hardships, disappointments and sacrifices along the way but keeping the lines of communication open is a very integral part of that, especially with the children.

INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION

1. Would you encourage other women and girls in Anguilla to pursue STEM related jobs, if so why?

Yes! Its time women realized their full potential. We have to make a start somewhere. Also, as we continue to grow as a people, we are becoming more and more technological. Pretty soon there won’t be a job that is not STEM related in some way. Anyone not realizing that will be left behind in an ever-changing world.

2. What would you say to young women who may be interested in the STEM fields?
   Run with it! The journey won’t always be a smooth one but I guarantee you it will be a fulfilling one. I have worked with a girls technology camp (Girls Get Tech) for about three years and I have seen so many young girls get involved and fall in love with STEM. Its been awesome. Sometimes at the end of the day you will choose another path, but you learn so much that helps in life along the way.

   
   

3. What would have encouraged you along your journey as a young woman interested in STEM?
   My parents; supportive family, friends and teachers. Raising me was no picnic. I think my parents were pretty angry from time to time. I was that child that always made some mess or blew up something in the house. But they never once stopped me or tried to discourage me. As a matter of fact, my mom bought every science set I had and dad would let me tinker with everything from damaged appliances to his power tools. My older brother was in charge of making sure I didn’t lose any fingers. I think they are happy now though. It’s my unofficial job to fix everything that goes wrong in the house. From electronics that don’t work to back yard furniture.

   
   

4. What would you encourage, educators, parents and guardians to do to ensure the advancement of young women in STEM related studies?Firstly, to provide that unwavering support that they would get if they wanted to be a doctor, lawyer or teacher. To understand that we can’t all sit in an office or go into business. To invest more in technology and find more ways to integrate it into the curriculum. When I was in school it was frowned on for an “academic” student to want to do “Technical” studies. To the point where all of my technical studies have been outside of the regular school system and didn’t see fruition till I went off to college.