This week’s Wednesday’s Women in STEM Series features Andrea Pretorian, a woman who is working in the relatively new field of blockchain and cryptocurrency with BitIRA. You’ve probably heard of Bitcoin but have you thought about the math involved in managing and investing this type of currency? Read on to hear how Andrea got into this rapidly growing field and how she views STEM education for women and girls.
When did you first become interested in STEM?
I blame my parents! I was very lucky to grow up in a household that really empowered me to always ask why, and to be really open to all subjects. It definitely helped that my mom is a chemical engineer; she encouraged me to seek out answers, to fear nothing in life, and to view any obstacle as a challenge to conquer. Understanding how the body works naturally made sense to me, as did numbers. This, combined with watching my dad assemble our first home computer—and wanting to understand what was behind this seemingly magical device—all drew me to STEM.
Where did you go to school and what did you study? Any interesting stories about your experience studying science or engineering?
I went to Duke for undergrad, where I got a degree in biology. I then started up on a second degree in computer science at UNCG. I was tutoring middle and high school students alongside these classes, and I worked in the hospital recruiting patients for a clinical observational study and processing samples.
I saw fear in people’s eyes. Students were terrified of math in particular, and frequently put themselves down to the point where they could not work through their assignments. I felt more like a coach during the tutoring sessions than a math instructor. I was constantly trying to help my students break through their fears and see their potential. The best part of my job was when they had breakthroughs! It’s extremely rewarding to provide others with a safe environment where they can find themselves.
In many ways, I saw a similar fear in people’s eyes at the hospital. Obviously, there was an inherently emotional component to the type of life-or-death decision-making that the cancer patients I worked with had to make. But I also saw how people were intimidated by doctors, and specifically all the science being thrown at them. A stronger science background in school could help bridge the gap; even if patients and their families didn’t have all the knowledge upfront (if they did, they’d be doctors), they’d feel comfortable handling the unfamiliar and knowing how to proceed to clarify their own questions.
What is your current career/profession and how do you use your interests in STEM on a day-to-day basis?
One of the hats I wear in my life involves managing content for BitIRA. I love it because they combine two subject areas that many people seem to find daunting: technology and finance.
Again, while I have a profound respect and interest in the facts included in STEM—ranging from biological concepts through algorithms—I think the primary gain from STEM education is the perspective it gives you. Everyone can benefit from this! Because of the scope and breadth of facts and data involved in STEM, it’s impossible to know everything. You have to be very comfortable navigating and handling what you don’t know until you reach your solution. You need strong critical thinking to get there, and STEM definitely builds up those muscles.
I have to use those muscles daily to figure out everything from what’s behind new crypto developments through understanding how different investments work. It keeps me on my toes, but my STEM background helps me and my interest in empowering the public motivates me.
What do you like most about your current job? What do you find most challenging?
I absolutely love knowing that what I’m doing helps empower people. I get really excited thinking that I can inspire someone, and I love knowing that potential influence extends far beyond the scope of people physically next to me. For all the complaints that can be made about the detrimental effects of social media, it’s great to see the internet being used as intended: to facilitate communication and convey knowledge. It’s thrilling to learn about emerging innovations and sharing them. Recently, I looked at blockchain and the environment, and there’s some really interesting work being done.
In terms of challenges, I’d say it’s that I need more hours in the day. I want more time to learn, write, and connect with people. I always feel like I’m playing from behind, and it seems like the more I learn, the more I want to know. I also need more money; just today I was looking at conferences, and they are expensive—but I want to go to them all!
What advice would you give to young girls who are interested in pursuing STEM activities or careers?
Be your own biggest advocate. If you don’t support yourself, who will? I’ve seen even the most successful women I know stop and wonder if they were being “too much” when asserting themselves. No! You need to stand up for yourself; you need to work for your goals and press on. You can’t please everyone. Live your values and find your own fulfillment; the rest will follow.
Anything else our girls or their parents would be interested in knowing about you?
Although I’ve been deeply entrenched in STEM my entire life, I am really passionate about the humanities. In both academia and out, I’ve heard a lot of language from many people who work in STEM that’s dismissive towards the humanities and it breaks my heart. This dismissive attitude isn’t ok! Both STEM and the humanities are critical, and complement each other in key ways. At their core, they both rely on communication, it’s just a matter of what they talk about and how. You need to be connected and find inspiration, and so you can’t just stay stuck in your field.