Ashley Watson
Interview Posted By: Ashley Smith
1. Can you tell us a little about your background? i.e. Where you grow up, what education do you have, a summary of your resume, did you always want to do what you are doing now, when did you start to become interested in STEM, what internships/ volunteering
I grew up in Hollywood, Florida, a city between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. I attended large public schools and was enrolled in gifted programs whenever possible. My parents did not have college degrees when I was a child, but they prioritized education and learning for my sister and me. (My mother went back to school once we were older, eventually earning a BS and a MS degree in education.) While I was placed in accelerated math programs, I did not have the same interest in science in middle school. I remember begrudgingly completing a yarn mitosis art project while thinking “Who cares how cells divide!” It wasn’t until 9th grade biology that I realized a passion for science. (I’ll discuss how that teacher mentored me later.) I attended Johns Hopkins University for a BS in Biomedical Engineering (with minors in Psychology and Theater) and graduated in 2007. My perceived career path has changed throughout the years, as I’ve wanted to be (in a vague order) a psychologist, a physician, a PhD biomedical researcher, a neuroscientist, a medical device entrepreneur, and a systems engineer. I am now an analyst working on project management for telemedicine projects at a hospital system.
My extracurriculars include community building and mentoring in Baltimore City. I live in a diverse neighborhood and enjoy planning get-togethers focused on cleaning and greening our streets. I am also involved in Thread, where a “family” of mentors (college students and professionals) form bonds with under-performing Baltimore high school students to get them on track for graduating high school and attending college. I also like to get involved in dance and theater performances, as well as doing arts and crafts (like painting and stained glass) at home. It is my goal to get more involved in a STEM mentoring or Women in Tech group in the Baltimore area.
2. What exactly IS your job? What do you do on a day to day basis?
As a System Analyst at University of Maryland Medical System, I support the technology that allows doctors and nurses to monitor patients from remote locations. The clinical staff needs access to the patient’s medical records and recent image scans and needs to have the ability to communicate with the remote care providers and the patients. We get the medical data interfaced from different hospital systems to one specific application and we have audio-video equipment on both sides to allow the staff to talk to each other. There are complex algorithms built into the program to determine if the patients’ state is improving or declining based on the vital signs input. We currently use this technology to support ICU patients and to assist with Stroke consults. I’m on a small team that designs, builds, and supports all the technology that allows this communication to happen. During a single day I could be doing project management conference calls (making sure everyone on the team knows what they need to do), computer troubleshooting and upgrades, and testing data crossing from one application to another and making sure the doctors have the right clinical information (like certain lab results) to make decisions for the patient’s care.
3. How does STEM relate to your job?How do you use the information you learned from your degree in your job?
While this position was not one presented as what a Biomedical Engineer can do, I am using the skills of data analysis, technical management, and reading computer languages (in my case HL7 standards) to support this project. It is important to me that my work is supporting healthcare advancement and improving patient care.
4. Have you faced any discrimination/ challenges being a woman in a stem field? If so, how did you deal with it? Do you have any advice for up and coming women in STEM?
I think there are definite challenges to being a young woman in the industry. Many of my coworkers and managers have been older men who have daughters around my age. This has worked for and against me. In a way, they see me as someone they want to support and protect, and have helped guide me in my career path in a way that I don’t know if they would have if I was closer to their age (or if I were male). However, being a young woman in the workplace I have had to toe the line between being friendly and joking like one of the boys and what counts as professional behavior. It is still okay to participate in some male-oriented bonding activities but set boundaries for your tolerances for joking and teasing.
It is also important to establish that you are not a secretary for the department and are a member of the team. For example, deciding to organize and clean or to plan a social event for the team can shape male team members' opinion of your role in the office and make assumptions about you in the future.
5. How do you balance your work and personal life? Any secrets or advice you’d like to share?
I think this is something that that everyone needs to think about how they value their time and design their life accordingly. While I hear amazing things about the campus lifestyle at Google and similar companies, I hear that they are designed to keep employees at work. Personally, I am someone who has always valued a 8-5 schedule (for the most part, barring any emergencies) and have set expectations at the interview time and throughout conversations with my management. I enjoy my non-work commitments in my community and my hobbies and would not want a job that consumes my life. I view my work as only one facet of my life. While I do not plan to have children, I value my time with my friends and loved ones and do not foresee giving up my personal time for work. I also value a friendly environment in the office, which means that while I understand that my work relationships need to remain professional, it is important not to share all aspects of life with my coworkers.
6. What is one personality trait that you think is universally important for a successful career?
Flexibility. You can’t always get what you want, whether it is the job that meets every tick on your perceived checklist, or the perfect team. There will always be new obstacles to get in your way that you will have to adapt and work to overcome.
7. Who was a mentor to you throughout your career? (can be more than one!) What did they teach you? How did they impact your life?
My 9th grade biology teacher, Mrs. MacIntosh, is who I credit for igniting my passion for science. She also helped pull me out of my shell as I was starting a new high school without my friends from middle school. Her lessons about biology, environmental science, and later in anatomy and physiology classes helped me become excited about the beauty and the logic of the world around me. She also encouraged me to take leadership positions in the environmental and community service club she sponsored. Throughout my four years in school, I ended up running science education and service programs through that club and made lifelong friends. Mrs Mac also pushed me towards top-tier research universities like Johns Hopkins, when I only had public schools on my radar. She encouraged me to dream bigger than I thought within my reach.
I grew up in Hollywood, Florida, a city between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. I attended large public schools and was enrolled in gifted programs whenever possible. My parents did not have college degrees when I was a child, but they prioritized education and learning for my sister and me. (My mother went back to school once we were older, eventually earning a BS and a MS degree in education.) While I was placed in accelerated math programs, I did not have the same interest in science in middle school. I remember begrudgingly completing a yarn mitosis art project while thinking “Who cares how cells divide!” It wasn’t until 9th grade biology that I realized a passion for science. (I’ll discuss how that teacher mentored me later.) I attended Johns Hopkins University for a BS in Biomedical Engineering (with minors in Psychology and Theater) and graduated in 2007. My perceived career path has changed throughout the years, as I’ve wanted to be (in a vague order) a psychologist, a physician, a PhD biomedical researcher, a neuroscientist, a medical device entrepreneur, and a systems engineer. I am now an analyst working on project management for telemedicine projects at a hospital system.
My extracurriculars include community building and mentoring in Baltimore City. I live in a diverse neighborhood and enjoy planning get-togethers focused on cleaning and greening our streets. I am also involved in Thread, where a “family” of mentors (college students and professionals) form bonds with under-performing Baltimore high school students to get them on track for graduating high school and attending college. I also like to get involved in dance and theater performances, as well as doing arts and crafts (like painting and stained glass) at home. It is my goal to get more involved in a STEM mentoring or Women in Tech group in the Baltimore area.
2. What exactly IS your job? What do you do on a day to day basis?
As a System Analyst at University of Maryland Medical System, I support the technology that allows doctors and nurses to monitor patients from remote locations. The clinical staff needs access to the patient’s medical records and recent image scans and needs to have the ability to communicate with the remote care providers and the patients. We get the medical data interfaced from different hospital systems to one specific application and we have audio-video equipment on both sides to allow the staff to talk to each other. There are complex algorithms built into the program to determine if the patients’ state is improving or declining based on the vital signs input. We currently use this technology to support ICU patients and to assist with Stroke consults. I’m on a small team that designs, builds, and supports all the technology that allows this communication to happen. During a single day I could be doing project management conference calls (making sure everyone on the team knows what they need to do), computer troubleshooting and upgrades, and testing data crossing from one application to another and making sure the doctors have the right clinical information (like certain lab results) to make decisions for the patient’s care.
3. How does STEM relate to your job?How do you use the information you learned from your degree in your job?
While this position was not one presented as what a Biomedical Engineer can do, I am using the skills of data analysis, technical management, and reading computer languages (in my case HL7 standards) to support this project. It is important to me that my work is supporting healthcare advancement and improving patient care.
4. Have you faced any discrimination/ challenges being a woman in a stem field? If so, how did you deal with it? Do you have any advice for up and coming women in STEM?
I think there are definite challenges to being a young woman in the industry. Many of my coworkers and managers have been older men who have daughters around my age. This has worked for and against me. In a way, they see me as someone they want to support and protect, and have helped guide me in my career path in a way that I don’t know if they would have if I was closer to their age (or if I were male). However, being a young woman in the workplace I have had to toe the line between being friendly and joking like one of the boys and what counts as professional behavior. It is still okay to participate in some male-oriented bonding activities but set boundaries for your tolerances for joking and teasing.
It is also important to establish that you are not a secretary for the department and are a member of the team. For example, deciding to organize and clean or to plan a social event for the team can shape male team members' opinion of your role in the office and make assumptions about you in the future.
5. How do you balance your work and personal life? Any secrets or advice you’d like to share?
I think this is something that that everyone needs to think about how they value their time and design their life accordingly. While I hear amazing things about the campus lifestyle at Google and similar companies, I hear that they are designed to keep employees at work. Personally, I am someone who has always valued a 8-5 schedule (for the most part, barring any emergencies) and have set expectations at the interview time and throughout conversations with my management. I enjoy my non-work commitments in my community and my hobbies and would not want a job that consumes my life. I view my work as only one facet of my life. While I do not plan to have children, I value my time with my friends and loved ones and do not foresee giving up my personal time for work. I also value a friendly environment in the office, which means that while I understand that my work relationships need to remain professional, it is important not to share all aspects of life with my coworkers.
6. What is one personality trait that you think is universally important for a successful career?
Flexibility. You can’t always get what you want, whether it is the job that meets every tick on your perceived checklist, or the perfect team. There will always be new obstacles to get in your way that you will have to adapt and work to overcome.
7. Who was a mentor to you throughout your career? (can be more than one!) What did they teach you? How did they impact your life?
My 9th grade biology teacher, Mrs. MacIntosh, is who I credit for igniting my passion for science. She also helped pull me out of my shell as I was starting a new high school without my friends from middle school. Her lessons about biology, environmental science, and later in anatomy and physiology classes helped me become excited about the beauty and the logic of the world around me. She also encouraged me to take leadership positions in the environmental and community service club she sponsored. Throughout my four years in school, I ended up running science education and service programs through that club and made lifelong friends. Mrs Mac also pushed me towards top-tier research universities like Johns Hopkins, when I only had public schools on my radar. She encouraged me to dream bigger than I thought within my reach.