Despite a challenging year that has affected the physical, emotional and financial wellbeing of individuals and businesses worldwide, the Motorola Solutions Foundation (MSF) has once again demonstrated its commitment to helping young, diverse women advance in the world of STEM. Now, more than ever, we need bright, unique minds to solve the problems our world is facing now and will likely face in the future—and the Society of Women Engineers wants to help those bright minds find and access opportunities to propel them into a promising and fulfilling future in technology or engineering. We can’t do that without the help of generous sponsors like MSF.
This year, MSF has helped SWE award over $90,000 in scholarships to ten young women pursuing technology and engineering degrees across the US. Hear firsthand from a few of the recipients how impactful these scholarships are to their educations and futures.
Karthika Sankar
“I am absolutely ecstatic about winning the Motorola Solutions Foundation Scholarship. I am using part of the fund towards buying books and software to aid my research and the rest towards my stipend. Currently, I work towards biosensor development including developing diagnostics for common viral diseases, and hormone/small molecule sensors using allosteric transcription factors. After the completion of my PhD, I will return to India, my home country, and take up a scientist position to work towards the advancement of biosensor research. Also I hope to start interdisciplinary collaboration between clinicians and engineers in India where they can work hand-in-hand towards addressing current clinical needs. I strongly believe that my PhD training, along with support from the Motorola Foundations Scholarship, will position me to have a significant impact on society and enable me to accomplish my goals.”
Christina Toler
“I am so thankful and honored to receive the 2020-2021 Motorola Solutions Foundation Scholarship, which is helping fund my studies in computer engineering at Georgia Tech. After graduating, I plan to attain a Master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering and then work as a computer engineer in the field of cyber or computer network operations. To me, receiving this scholarship means that Motorola Solutions is committed to supporting and investing in women like me who are pursuing a career in STEM. With our world becoming increasingly more dependent on technology, I am thrilled that Motorola Solutions is helping to innovate the future – not only by transforming the technology of tomorrow, but also by increasing diversity and inclusion for women in STEM and inspiring the next generation of women engineers.”
Sasha Azad
“Being awarded this scholarship means the world to me. I come from a solidly middle class Indian family. My parents run a non-profit NGO to improve rural education and healthcare in India. When I decided to pursue my graduate degrees I took out student loans to help me with the same. The scholarship funds will now allow me to pay off my tuition and other student expenses for the year, allowing me to use my Ph.D. stipend to pay off my student loans (albeit slowly) over time. Additionally, my summer internship was cancelled due to travel and work restrictions in the COVID-19 world we currently reside in. The scholarship funds allowed me to work on my research, and stay solvent and safe over the course of the summer in lieu of the internship.”
With the generosity of both individual and corporate donors, SWE was able to award over $1 million in scholarships in 2020. We are always looking for new sponsors and donors to help us increase our efforts at strengthening the prospects and possibilities for women in STEM. If you or your business are looking to positively impact the STEM community, we encourage you to explore the scholarship program or reach out to sinead.gaffney@swe.org with any questions.
Thank you again to the Motorola Solutions Foundation and all of our donors and sponsors who make our work possible!
Related content:
- Don’t Miss the 2021 SWE Scholarship Deadlines
- SWE Endowed Scholarships: Lillian Moller Gilbreth Memorial
- SWE Awards Over $1 Million in Scholarships
- A #GivingTuesday Donation to SWE Is the Gift That Keeps on Giving
