It is so important to me to find a career and life path that are rewarding. I’m motivated by many things: helping people, money, collecting new experiences, being relevant and making important decisions, solving difficult problems, and so on. I have twice as many interests, including environmentalism, improving education, improving healthcare, psychology, athletics, social justice.

I chose to study math and computer science such that I didn’t have to pick too early which interest to follow, as I believe math and computer science prepares people well to solve complex problems. I also chose them because math and computer science were incredibly fun departments at Stanford, as they were collaborative, creative, and stretched my problem-solving abilities. However, I’m lucky that the departments that I found the most fun also complement what I want to do with my life.

Stubbornness & a growth mindset

My best and worst quality is, in fact, that I’m incredibly stubborn. It is the worst because I get attached to projects and plans I’ve made with the backing of extensive research, and it takes a lot work to change my mind. It’s the best because I fight for what I believe in, whether it is a product I’m building or an ethical conundrum. My stubbornness is what powered me through my math and computer science degrees. No problem was too difficult for me to power through it by wearing it down with effort and time and asking for help. The satisfaction of completing an incredibly difficult problem propelled me onto the next one.

Interestingly enough, stubbornness may not be an uncommon quality among women in mathematics. According to Carol Dwight in her book Mindset, she references one of her studies about biased math instructors and the impact it had on the female students (chapter 3). The stubbornness that comes from believing one belongs and can learn anything allows female students to “fight back” against harmful stereotyping. I identify with this, and found a perverse joy in proving people wrong. I don’t believe I would have finished my degrees without my stubbornness and deep belief in my ability to grow.

Becoming part of something bigger than yourself

Despite my continuing love for working through complex problems (possibly my favorite time wasting activity is killer sudoku) and my love for learning new things, my reasons for working in technology no longer are exactly the same reasons why I started studying technology. Working in technology can be incredibly lucrative, but nearly everyone I know in the industry has experienced deep burn out in one way or another. As Chris Bosh writes in his Letters to a Young Athlete, a person’s ‘why’ “has to be deeper than winning or losing, or getting some free money to pay for college. It’s got to connect to your soul. It’s got to connect you to something bigger than yourself” (chapter 2).

My ‘why’ revolves around my deep optimism for what technology can do for people: the problems it can continue to solve and the lives it can improve. I feel extremely connected to the greater world when a person uses my products and is delighted with the experience. It’s incredibly motivating and rewarding to work through the building process with like-minded and talented people, all in pursuit of the same greater goal. The cherry on top for product developers is the feedback from users: not only did you try to change the world for the better, but you actually accomplished it. Chris Bosh’s why resonates with me as well: “Knowing—not just thinking, but knowing—that you’re making the most of your God-given talents. The joy of operating at the peak of your ability. The joy of being part of a team that runs like a well-oiled machine”(chapter 2).