THE AUTHENTIC SELF
Only after graduating from UC San Diego did Vivienne Ming , Muir ' 00 , understand the courage it takes to be one ' s true self .
MING ’ S ROAD TO GET THERE , however , was long and difficult , and fortunately one that Ryland likely won ’ t have to endure . Ming is also transgender , and while her personal story is marked with the loneliness and anguish that so often characterizes that passage , it ’ s often cited as the driving force for Ming today , in her mission to help all people discover what ’ s inside of themselves , and help develop the potential inside the next generation .
Growing up , Ming was a typical though somewhat lonesome boy who excelled in sports and academics . It wasn ’ t until coming to UC San Diego that Ming — who went by a different name when enrolled — began to truly struggle , withdrawing from social activities and soon , class altogether . She dropped out — though in truth , flunked out is likely a better way to describe it .
Authenticity is really about having the courage to understand yourself and then having the courage to be yourself .”
— VIVIENNE MING , MUIR ’ 00
“ I flunked out of life ,” she says . “ I wasn ’ t getting out of bed very often ; I pretty much moved into the closet at the condo where I was living . Something about being closed up in the dark felt like it was a solution to something . And the loneliness I felt didn ’ t come so much from being different , but being unable to share that difference with anyone else .”
Still conforming to her gender at birth , she left UC San Diego and moved back to the Bay Area to take an office job managing a failing abalone farm , where against all odds , something clicked , and she found a new sense of purpose .
“ There was this sense that there was nothing you could do to stop the inevitable ,” Ming says . “ I was living onsite , next to the wet lab in a building where the roof had caved in , working incredibly hard just to keep these little snails alive , to keep it all going . It helped to take me out of myself . I realized that I can direct myself back out into the world again .”
Ming directed herself back to UC San Diego and dove into the cognitive science department , ultimately going from college dropout to honors student . She matriculated to the psychology Ph . D . program at Carnegie Mellon University , where Ming met her future wife , Norma Chang . Chang was there to help when , then in their 30s and back in the Bay Area , Ming realized she was ready to lead her life as her true gender , a woman .
With the pair having now become powerhouses in Silicon Valley , Ming ’ s gender transition has become little more than a biographical side note to the groundbreaking ideas she puts forth . She is a noted speaker and essayist , and has the added distinction of being named one of Inc . magazine ’ s “ 10 Women to Watch in Tech .” Together , Ming and Chang are founders of Socos , a data-based education company that mines an enormous amount of natural data to not only predict life outcomes , but improve those outcomes by identifying ways to tailor the individual educational experience . In these data points they can literally see the potential in everyone , and were motivated by maximizing what Ming calls “ authentic living .”
“ What is it that we really want education to do ?” she asks . “ Education should produce happy , healthy and productive lives . Then let society reap the benefits .”
DRAWING UPON an extensive background in machine learning , Ming developed intricate and complex algorithms , which she can articulate easily thanks to a generous ability to pick up on her audience ’ s level of understanding . She takes cues from listeners that tell her if they ’ re getting it or not .
A similar quality lies behind Socos ’ first ready-for-market product , called Muse . Designed for parents , yet with the potential to expand to educators and employers , Muse collects and processes data supplied by caregivers — anything from uploading
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