Meet Tamara Rosner

Tamara Rosner graduated with a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from McMaster University in 2018. She is currently a Data Analyst at the University of Toronto. In her free time, Tamara enjoys crochet ( mostly making little dolls of Pokemon, Harry Potter characters, and custom recreations of pets) and playing board games (her favourite game is Viticulture!) She also listens to a lot of podcasts, mostly related to science or Harry Potter.

When did your love of STEM begin?

It started when I was really, really young. My favourite show as a kid was The Magic School Bus, and science and math were always my favourite subjects in school. I remember asking for books about space from the Scholastic catalogue when I was about 6 or 7 years old and my dad got really excited since he always loved science, too!

I think the reason I loved science from such a young age is because I was always fascinated by how things worked. Science helped give me those answers (and created more questions for me to ask!)

What is the best part about working in the field of STEM?

For me, it's that I'm always learning something new. Answering one question leads to me asking about 10 more questions, and discovering new things to explore and figure out.

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

Find a topic you're interested in and start exploring! And remember that STEM is all about learning, and learning is all about making mistakes and "failing". Working in STEM can be so satisfying, but at times it can also be frustrating. That's okay. That's normal. It's all part of the process.