Progress, not perfection -Grecia Olano O'Brien
Meet Grecia, a member of iGEM Concordia-Montreal and the president of Women in STEM Concordia (WSTEMC). A university student majoring in web services and applications, her iGEM journey started with the conspicuous poster calling for applications for the university team.
“ It talked about space exploration which was cool but the graphic was what caught my attention. I was just like — Wow.”
As someone passionate about web and software development, Grecia attributes her initial enthusiasm to be a part of iGEM to the well-designed website. The more she browsed and read, the more interested and fascinated she became.
“The first time I clicked on the website definitely changed a lot of things for me. You should have seen my face!”
Grecia believes that working on an iGEM project has helped her tremendously, especially in terms of exposure to possible future careers. Working on a diverse team with so many different backgrounds has opened her eyes to future prospects.
“I’d never observed that there could be so many possibilities for the application of software. I’m starting to consider a career in bioinformatics as well.”
The whole process made her closely examine the skills needed to be successful outside of just technical development- like learning to work on a large team and getting along with everyone. Collaboration with a large team isn’t always easy but on the plus side, there's always so much to learn. Coming from a software background, Grecia observed that there is a lot of difference between the working of a software team and that of a research team.
“Research has a lot to do with talking to professors and connecting with the university to be able to have better resources. What they’re good at is getting in contact with faculty, which is something I’ve started to learn.”
Apart from iGEM, Grecia is also working on a project called Women in STEM at Concordia (WSTEMC), where she serves as President.
The experience of working on so many projects in the midst of the pandemic has its own share of ups and downs. Grecia sees the glass half full and talks about how her time management and remote troubleshooting skills have improved.
“I’m even considering remote career opportunities outside Canada!”
She believes in the power of extracurriculars and it was important for her to be involved with those that are aligned with her values. Last year, she was actively looking for opportunities to help women’s advancement in STEM fields, which is how she came across WSTEMC.
“I was fortunate to get the role of President. We are working a lot over the summer and we plan to have a series of events in the fall.”
As both a member of such an organization and a woman working in a STEM field herself, she believes that although there are scores of challenges, hard work and motivation will get you where you want to be. She feels that for women specifically, the importance of a strong support group is understated.
“Get involved in extracurriculars. Surround yourself with strong women. Go after the things that are aligned with your heart.”
In her experience, imposter syndrome is an obstacle most women in any field face.
“I think it is important to work on self-confidence and trust more in your abilities and your self. You have to believe that you will be able to have a successful career.”
In closing, she urges everyone to not be afraid and believe that it will all turn out okay. In her words-
“Progress, not perfection! University is the perfect time to explore because there is nothing to lose. So get involved and be informed.”
