“ One of the best things I ever got out of my time at Crofton House was the friends that I made . There was a group of us , and we really have stayed friends . Students reading this article — treasure those friendships . They can last you a lifetime !” – Dr Isla Myers-Smith
Jackie Law ’ 13 graduated with a Master ’ s in Computer Science from Cornell University in 2017 . She now works at Google in Silicon Valley as a software engineer , monitoring and maintaining the complex cloud servers that run YouTube , Gmail , Hangouts and other Google services .
Jackie is also heavily involved in Toastmasters , a non-profit focused on improving public speaking and leadership skills in local communities . This fall , she will be pursuing an MBA at the University of Pennsylvania , Wharton .
HOW DID CHS INSPIRE AND SUPPORT YOUR INTEREST IN COMPUTER SCIENCE AND SOFTWARE ENGINEERING ?
I took AP Computer Science in Grade 11 . But it ’ s also that Crofton House is an all-girls ’ school . Some of my peers that I ’ ve talked to outside of CHS speak to the stereotype that sometimes girls and women feel less confident in STEM because of societal constructs . The fact that Crofton House is an all-girls ’ school let me explore and not second-guess whether I am good at something .
WHAT DO YOU DO TODAY AT GOOGLE ?
I work as a site reliability engineer . I am an engineer that makes sure the system — or , in this case , the site — is reliable ! My job is to make sure that Google products are running as expected and to work really hard to fix the systems that aren ’ t working for users when needed .
NOW , GOING INTO YOUR MBA , WHAT WOULD YOU SAY YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IN YOUR NEXT CAREER ?
I love tech , but I also love working with people — there are many innovative , smart and humble people at Google , and it ’ s been nice to be around them . When I think about my next career , I want to continue to work in a collaborative environment but have my day-to-day work more focused on working with people and helping them grow . Developing people is interesting to me now .
ALUMNAE
Advice
We asked both alumnae what their advice is for CHS students interested in STEM :
Jackie : You don ’ t need to be “ technical ” to be in tech . You don ’ t need a computer science degree to be a UX designer , project manager , recruiter , technical writer , etc .
Isla : STEM isn ’ t a bubble on its own . All careers have elements of other jobs , and any career is about bringing together different features that you ’ re passionate about .
Jackie : Soft skills are still important in tech .
Isla : Put yourself out there ! Join a research group or contact someone whose research you ’ re interested in .
Jackie : Don ’ t worry about whether you made the “ right ” decision . You can always shift your career , and there is no timeline for when you can do certain things .
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