“If you show up as an engineer, people will treat you that way.”

What a powerful lesson from our guest this week - aerospace engineer, corporate trainer, motivational speaker, and comedian, Shayla Rivera. Starting her career at NASA as an aerospace engineer (who does that?!?), Shayla spent five years working on the space shuttle and space station programs. She left to pursue psychology, trying to understand what makes people tick, first working in environmental systems sales and then moving on to corporate training. She found her niche as a motivational speaker. Her love of words and natural ability to not take herself or the world too seriously finally led her to comedy. Currently, Shayla serves as Director of ENGR[x] at Texas A&M University, her alma mater. This new program is designed to provide undergraduate engineering students with professional skills and experiences beyond their engineering degree requirements, making them more attractive to employers.

Shayla is one fascinating woman with a down-to-earth attitude and infectious enthusiasm for life. In this episode, she offers sound advice for how to avoid the common pitfalls that plague some women going into science and technical fields and how to follow your curiosity. The question, she says, is not “What do you want to be when you grow up?” but “What do you want to be first?”