Meet Talyn Kazazian
No engineering degree is complete without building your own house!
Talyn Kazazian graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science and Engineering degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto in 2005. She also graduated with her Masters in Business Administration in Accounting and Finance from Wilfred Laurier University in 2008. She also received her Professional Engineer of Ontario (P.Eng) license in 2009, and became a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CMA) in 2008. She currently works as a Senior Director at Agile Marketing. In her spare time, Talyn enjoys poetry, playing the piano, baking, cooking, being a children's book author, and is a Certified Spin instructor.
When did your love of STEM begin?
My love of STEM began when I was a little girl and my father would build things with me. Every time anything would need to be assembled or fixed at home, I would be fascinated with how to put it back together. He continuously encouraged me to be inquisitive and always involved me in these mini projects to nurture my interest. I proceeded to specialize in all the science and math courses throughout elementary and high school. Then in high school, Ryerson had a 1 week summer program for grade 10 female students to introduce them to the Engineering discipline. I convinced my school principal to enroll me in this program where I got a first hand glimpse of what the Engineering discipline was all about and I was hooked! When it came time to university applications, the only programs I picked were engineering disciplines. Fortunately I got accepted!
What is the best part about working in the field of STEM?
The best part of working in the field of STEM is the vast array of opportunities it has enabled for me. I started off my career on the production floor at Blackberry (formerly known as Research in Motion), then entered the telecommunications industry with roles ranging in Finance, Planning, Strategy, Distribution, Performance Management and most recently in Marketing. And as a side hustle, with all this knowledge and experience that the STEM field has afforded me, I am venturing into Entrepreneurship by launching my own company specializing in the science of languages for infants. STEM prepared me with a broad and comprehensive way of thinking that has afforded me unparalleled experiences which has led to my success thus far.
What advice would you give young women interested in a career in STEM?
Don't let anyone ever tell you that you shouldn't pursue a career in STEM. I has faced with many circumstances where people told me I couldn't pursue STEM and this, along with my stubborn personality, only fueled my defiance and persistence to succeed in the field. I recall back to when I was applying for Engineering school, and a prominent leader in my community told me that "Girls just don't study engineering and math. It's only for boys". I went home that day and vowed to prove him wrong. Fast-forward a few years later, I had completed my Engineering degree, an MBA and had also completed my CPA designation having received the second highest grade in the country. Yet again, at work, I was faced with a manager who told me that I couldn't do a role in Finance. Again, I made a mental note that I would prove him wrong and spent 2.5 years transforming Finance at one of the big 3 telecommunication companies in Canada. This happened a third time most recently when again, our department leader told me that I couldn't branch out and do a role in Marketing. Again, I set out to prove him wrong and am now one of the individuals that is changing our Wireless marketing organization to transform into adopting the Agile Marketing way of working. My advice: never let anyone tell you that you can't do something! You can and you will!