The “Her Stories: Adventures in STEM” blog series is a collection of stories about 20 women in science and engineering fields, written by members of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Pre-College Working Group.
These inspiring women have experienced a variety of life experiences and career paths, and these stories and accompanying artwork help to capture the vast diversity of our featured scientists and engineers.
We hope this series will show you how exciting engineering and science can be and help you realize that anyone can choose to become a scientist or an engineer.
Story by Meagan Olsen
From an early age, Eshé Pickett understood the importance of community. She grew up with two sisters, two brothers, and a variety of foster siblings.
Although they had many different interests, the siblings made sure each person felt included and knew that they were appreciated. Eshé relied on the community she built with her family and outside of her home as she explored her interests and journeyed through her career.
In childhood, Eshé’s family valued curiosity, education, and humility. She was encouraged to explore her love of drawing, animation, and puzzles. As she got older, this love of puzzles drew her towards computer science.
During her sophomore year of high school, a computer teacher asked Eshé to join a pilot class in coding. Her coding teacher created a game where by providing correct instructions, much like writing lines of code, they would move them from the back of the classroom to the front.
From this moment on, Eshé was excited by the idea of computer science. The high expectations of her teachers motivated Eshé to work hard and succeed in academics.
College was challenging for Eshé. Although she was excited to leave New Mexico and see what the world had to offer, Northwestern University was far away from her family. She cried every time she left home for the first two years and would regularly call and write to her sisters and mother while in Illinois.
The summer engineering program Northwestern provided before her freshman year helped her build relationships with other students of color. Eshé was able to shape a new community of friends and mentors, helping her to feel less lonely and overwhelmed.
Eshé was one of the few computer science students who did not own a personal computer. At home, she typically used the computers at the local library. In college, she either went to the computer labs or asked to borrow her friends’ computers in between her various jobs. She saved money over the course of a work-study program and internship. This allowed her to buy her own personal computer.
Eshé was then able to support her friends as they had supported her, recognizing that they had to overcome difficulties many of their peers did not. The friends learned to depend on one another and their community to succeed.
These were not the only challenges Eshé faced at college. Eshé had excelled at math in elementary school, but in college, math became less intuitive. She received Ds in both Calculus I and Calculus II, was placed on academic probation, and nearly failed out of school.
These events forced her to unlearn the idea that being good at math and science was a natural ability. Much like a marathon runner is not born with the ability to run 26.2 miles, Eshé realized she had to practice and work hard to understand math. By attending tutoring, asking questions in office hours, and working through hundreds of practice problems, she passed Calculus III with a high grade and earned her undergraduate degree.
Eshé then went on to receive her master’s degree in computer science from the University of Chicago. After graduation, she sold the contents of her apartment and moved across the country to start her new job with nothing more than a chair and folding table.
Starting a professional engineering career was life-changing for Eshé. She was able to pay off her student loans, buy a home, and help her family whenever necessary. Being the first person in her family to hold a corporate job, Eshé credits her success to her mentors who helped her learn to survive in an unfamiliar environment.
Today, Eshé identifies how to apply technology in health, education, and consumer industries for the Network and Edge Group at Intel. She identifies the pieces a machine or software package needs to function, creating blueprints to incorporate technology throughout society. She is also involved with public education to encourage broader technology use.
Serving her community remains important to Eshé. She volunteers her time with local government, a regional nonprofit radio affiliate, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and SWE. She loves helping people achieve their goals by opening doors that might otherwise be inaccessible. Eshé particularly enjoys mentoring other women in computer science, sharing her mistakes, and helping them discover new parts of themselves.
With all of her involvement, Eshé tries to show the impact that a strong community can have in overcoming personal struggles. She was not born an expert in calculus or coding, nor was her path to her current position easy. Her experiences have taught her not to shy away from failure, but to embrace it and grow from it. By standing on the shoulders of other strong women, Eshé has found success.
The “Her Stories: Adventures in STEM” series is a collection of stories about 20 women in science and engineering fields, written by members of the SWE Pre-College Working Group. Dive into the rest of the series here!
Know a precollege kid interested in STEM? Join SWENext, the Society’s free program that allows students ages 5 through 18 to join the SWE engineering and technology community.
SWENexters enjoy numerous opportunities throughout the year to learn, network, and connect with peers, role models, and industry professionals. Plus, this diverse, welcoming, precollege STEM community provides a safe place where kids can feel seen, heard, and validated. SWENext is open to all genders.
