Meet Jenan Abderrahman

Jenan Abderrahman graduated with her Bachelor of Engineering in Aerospace Engineering at Ryerson University. She currently works as a Process Controls Engineer at Lakeside Process Controls, and as a Lead Instructor at Zebra Robotics. In her spare time, she likes to do adventurous things like white water rafting, and bike marathons.

When did your love of STEM begin?

My love of STEM like definitely begun in grade 11. I took physics and I really enjoyed it and I hadn't had any background or even real passion for Science or Mathematics. To be honest I felt like I was pretty strong in it, but my parents made sure that we were taught every single subject we did. So I was pretty strong in a lot of different subjects. I felt like I was and I typically got good grades so it wasn't really a differentiator for me.

What did you love most about study in your field of STEM?

When I started in physics I just felt like the content was just fascinating to me and just the way that things worked. How there was this explanation for like energy, and it was just it was fascinating to me and I really enjoyed it. One of my teachers really noticed that I enjoyed it and he was actually an engineer before he became a teacher. He is also a chef. So he really encouraged me to pursue it. He said, “I think you'd make a great engineer and I think that you should try it because, look at me, I don't have just one passion or one hobby.” I really took it to heart because now I have two jobs, but basically his story I really connected and resonated with, and because he had two passions that were so different they made me realize that I could really like like law or medicine but also enjoy like physics and STEM professions.

What advice would you give to young women considering a career in STEM?

The advice that I would give to a young woman who's interested in STEM would definitely be that you don't have to get it right the first time. I think it’s important to set goals. What can I achieve in this year that will make me feel a little bit more successful for myself? Figure out what milestones you want to reach that are important to you and then achieve those slowly at your own pace. As long as you’re willing to learn you don’t have to get it right the first time.