Meet Kyra Jones
Kyra Jones earned her Honours Bachelor of Science majoring in Biology at the University of Waterloo, her Doctor of Philosophy in Biology at the University of Waterloo;, and her Bachelor of Education at, Brock University. She is currently a Manager, Lead Designer and Facilitator, at Deloitte Greenhouse. In her free time she likes to hike, write, or spend time with her family.
When did your love of STEM begin?
I fell in love with science early in my life. I remember when I was little I was always doing experiments. When I was about 8 years old, the posters kept falling off the wall in my bedroom and I decided I wanted to make a “better sticky tack”. I took different things I thought might help and mixed them in to the sticky tack I had and tested them out on my wall in a grid, each holding something of similar size. I’m not sure my parents appreciated the marks some of my “new and improved” sticky tack left on the wall, but I know they appreciated my inquisitive spirit. My curiosity around why and how things happen was strong and as I continued in my education, I continued to fall in love with science. In High school, I really fell in love with Chemistry and Biology and that is when I knew I wanted to keep the sciences as a key part of my personal and professional life.
What is the best part about working in the field of STEM?
I get to think about the “why” behind many different problems and you can dive as deep as you want to into the challenges you are investigating. There are so many ways to come at a problem and there is a true community in the sciences - everyone is building on one another's work, which fosters a sense of collective creation. I love the feeling of learning from and contributing to a community of scientists!
What advice would you give young women interested in a career in STEM?
Advice I would give young women interested in a career in STEM is to bring your personal philosophy and personality to what you do - there are many ways you can be a scientist and many paths to get to where you want to go. When you make decisions, make decisions that feel right to you.