Go Big: Celebrating girls in STEAM and a woman who lived her dreams
If you’ve read our blog, you’ve probably heard me mention that Meta Humans was co-founded by my late wife and me. But I haven’t shared her story before, or at least not here.
Explore the Meta Humans experience by CLICKING HERE.
Preserving Erika’s legacy
Earlier this year, my book about Erika was published. It was actually the culmination of more than a year of effort following her passing. Erika had taken the first steps to writing a book about adventures from her childhood and her life as a skydiver, a mother, a military officer, and more. Unfortunately, she was admitted to the ICU before she could get any further than an outline and a few notes. We lost her in 2020.
Finishing the book was our way of helping her complete one final mission. Making Meta Humans a success is our way of preserving her legacy.
Erika had lived a life of accomplishment. You’d never know it, but those accomplishments were incredibly difficult for her. She fought for big things because she always believed there was something more out there. She fought through challenging courses, enrolled in physically and mentally demanding training, and never took the easy route because she knew the challenge was part of the reward. She was adept at real-life problem-solving and expanding her own capacity to learn, not just as a young person but her entire life. That’s a core Meta Humans capability.
By the time she retired, she was a decorated Navy Lieutenant Commander who had successfully completed deployments in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom as a cryptologist, served as the combat electronic division officer and operations information division officer in the Mediterranean, and helped guide missile cruisers safely across the Pacific. After 22 years of service, as her health was declining, she continued traveling the world with our children, showing them how much there is to see and do. She wanted them to experience what was possible through determination. The way she lived, she showed us the reward wasn’t in the next rank or next assignment. It was in the growth that came with achieving her goals.
That concept, the drive to go big, be better, and keep growing despite the obstacles helped her achieve more than most people do in 70 years or more, even though her lifetime was cut far too short after her second battle with breast cancer.
Learning as its own reward
Those same ideas — learning as its own reward — are at the heart of Meta Humans. Erika and I always believed there was something more for our children and for our communities. We believed in nurturing internal drivers that help us all be better people. We talk a lot about purpose guiding all we do here, whether it’s helping young people expand their creativity or showing them how to build their own team to accomplish a complex goal. The specific mission or skill is only one element of what we’re teaching them. Founded on Erika’s drive to go big and do better, Meta Humans is about building a fulfilling life and being a lifelong learner.
As we celebrate girls and women in STEAM this month, we can’t help but be reminded of Erika. Growing up, everyone knew her as the soft-spoken girl. She was bookish. She came off as very quiet and shy. But she had so much inside her. Engineering and math were a challenge for her, but they were challenges she faced head-on to achieve her dreams, first as a cryptologist and then as a U.S. Navy officer exploring the seas. No matter what she decided to do, she was going to do it big and she was always pushing herself to be better. That’s how Meta Humans came to exist, and we are forever grateful for that.
Let’s inspire generations together
If you want better for your children, if you want better for the world, if you want better for the future, we are inviting you to help us make it happen. Our goal is not only to teach your children 21st century skills like coding, but also to teach them how to acquire new skills so they are poised to grow, no matter what the future holds. Our team is working hard to make our first opening in Orlando happen this year. And that’s just a start.
We plan to go big, and you can too. Join the movement by CLICKING HERE.
