Meet Tanya Raja
Tanya Raja is pursuing a Bachelor of Applied Sciences degree in Manufacturing Engineering at the University of British Columbia. In her free time, Tanya enjoys dance, reading, sports (she absolutely loves Spikeball!), and exploring the outdoors! Apart from that, her go-to topics of interest are sustainable manufacturing and lean operations management!
When did your love of STEM begin?
In high school, I was one of the few girls a part of Physics Club. It started off as a favour to a friend, but as I got more involved in projects, I was amazed at the process flow of technical design, material procurement, operation timeline and the actual machining and building. My supervisor saw my enthusiasm for the projects and suggested that I look into Manufacturing or Industrial Engineering programs for college. Now, I am finishing my second year of Manufacturing Engineering at UBC, Vancouver :)
What is the best part about working in the field of STEM?
Something that still fascinates me is the impact and understanding of the world around us that we have in the field of STEM. Everything we see around us IS STEM. From research into the slip planes of different material fracture on an atomic scale to the dynamics of enormous robots, to the simple stress calculations that hold billions of people on bridges and buildings, to air travel and potential space travel. With a climate crisis going on, the world relies on those in STEM to save our planet. The world is consistently changing and the only way forward is to embrace STEM and grow with it!
What advice would you give young women interested in a career in STEM?
STEM is very broad and you don’t have to like or have an interest in ALL of it to feel like you fit-in. For example, it’s okay to not be good at Math and still belong in STEM! My advice would be to find what interests you (even if that means trying all of the things you don’t!), and you’ll find what’s right for you. What is common to all careers in STEM is to be driven, curious, and passionate about what you’re doing. Everything else will fall right in place, you just have to give it time!