Innovators Advancing STEM: Career Chat Highlights Industry Leaders and Their Pathways to Success
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During a recent STEM Next Career Chat, teens across the country explored how careers in biotech, aerospace and technology take shape, and the many different paths that can lead there.
Moderated by STEM Next Flight Crew member Shireen, a teen from Arizona interested in pursuing health and medicine, the conversation featured leaders working across STEM industries. The panel included Karina Moreno, a biotech engineer at Illumina; Dr. Brittany Wheeler, associate director of manufacturing and operations at RTX; Jennifer Lemon, an engineer at BAE Systems; and Lori Seuch, chief information officer at the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA).
They shared how their careers evolved, the skills they rely on every day and what today’s students can do to prepare for the future.
Using STEM to Solve Real-World Problems
Karina started her career as a middle and high school STEM teacher. At Illumina, she helps ensure DNA sequencing technology is accurate and scalable, supporting advances in fields like cancer treatment and rare disease diagnosis. She pointed to the experience of her own mother’s battle with lung cancer, and how targeted treatments extended her life.
She said the growing ability to personalize care for rare diseases through genomics is one of the most exciting developments in her field, and a reminder that STEM careers can have meaningful, real-world impact.
“Something important is how we are going to make DNA readable and accessible with high accuracy and at a massive scale to make it cheaper, so people can really afford it or use it,” Karina said.
Finding Your Path, Even When It Changes
For Lori, a career in STEM wasn’t part of the original plan. As a teenager, she imagined a future in law and politics before her path shifted into financial aid, operations and eventually technology leadership at MEFA.
“I don’t have a technology or STEM background, so I find I’m a little bit unique in panels like this, where I can provide perspective about how you have a broad education that could lead you to a STEM career,” she said.
Changing her career trajectory didn’t happen all at once. Instead, it came from being open to new opportunities and willing to learn along the way.
“It was a hugely exciting change to go into financial aid and then move into operations, and then from there move into technology and see how a liberal arts education could bring me to all of those places confidently and successfully,” she said. “My advice is to be open-minded to all different kinds of possibilities, and be curious. Always be curious.”
Jennifer at BAE Systems echoed that mindset, encouraging students not to feel locked into one direction too early.
“[My advice] would be to really keep going, don’t be afraid. Try everything,” she said.
Building Skills for the Future
For Brittany, a single moment helped shape her path to her current role at RTX.
“My math teacher motivated me to go into STEM,” she said. “He stopped me and said, ‘You’re really good at math.’ He showed me a list of careers, and I said, ‘Well, what’s the highest one?’ He said it’s engineering. I said, ‘Well, that’s what I’m going to be.’”
Now, she leads teams that build critical components for defense systems.
She said she’s focused on helping create opportunities for others, especially students who may not yet see themselves in STEM.
“I had extracurricular activities, but I had to go above and beyond because my school didn’t provide them,” she said. “Now I’m dedicated to making sure there’s no other student like me who was in that same position.”
Panelists also emphasized that STEM careers extend far beyond technical roles. In aerospace, for example, there are opportunities in fields ranging from communications to finance to cybersecurity.
“You do not have to be an engineer to work in aerospace. That is a myth,” Brittany said. “Focus on the skills and things that you like to do, and then you can kind of navigate yourself.”
Looking ahead, the conversation also turned to artificial intelligence and the future of work. While technology continues to evolve, panelists agreed that human skills will remain essential.
“It’s not bad to have those tools, but you need to tell the tool to do what you need, not the opposite,” Karina said. “We are the ones who need to make those decisions, not let the tool drive us.”
A Future Full of Possibility
Throughout the session, students asked thoughtful questions about careers, skills and how to get started.
Lori shared key networking advice for teens.
“Starting now and getting comfortable with going up to somebody and just introducing yourself is the first way to start networking,” she said. “The sooner you’re comfortable and confident starting those conversations, the better you are, and honestly, the more fun it gets.”
The panelists’ advice was consistent: stay curious, explore widely, and take advantage of opportunities to learn.
“One of the [most important] skills is asking questions,” Karina said. “The worst questions are the ones that we don’t ask.”
For the teens tuning in, the message was clear: there’s no single roadmap into STEM. But with curiosity, persistence and a willingness to try something new, the possibilities are wide open.
The post Innovators Advancing STEM: Career Chat Highlights Industry Leaders and Their Pathways to Success appeared first on STEM Next.
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