2018 Veronica Cheon
Coloring Outside the Lines
By Veronica Cheon
It isn’t a big news flash to hear that girls can’t do as much as boys. Some might say it as a joke, others in all seriousness. Without knowing what it feels like to be on the receiving side of
it, it may seem like a comment that will just pass by without harm or any offence taken. However, ever since I was a little girl, I never really understood what it meant. I didn’t know
why I was being restricted from things that others could do. It doesn’t take much to recognize
injustice in the equality driven world that exists today however it takes wit and determination to
be the individual who stands up for what is right and sets justice back in order. I always believed that there would be someone in the world, someone who would care enough and have the amount of courage needed to stand up for their beliefs and show the world that girls could do anything. Then I realized, that person could be me.
Just a month before this event, my whole grade from my school had the opportunity to
watch a live knee replacement from Telus Spark (the surgery would take place at the Rockyview
Hospital). This sparked further my interest in medical science; so when I received the form for
Observation Minerva, I was looking forward to potentially being paired up with someone whose
job was in the area of medical science, a career path I definitely desire to pursue. I was hoping
that I could finally have a female role model to look up to! However, when I found out where I
would be going, I was dismayed. I had been paired up with the company, Benevity. This was a
company I had never heard of before and when I searched it up online as to gather further
information to what sort of workplace it was, I got mixed information and could not really
decipher what field of science the company was in. I decided to wait until the job shadowing day
to judge whether or not I ‘liked’ the company or not.
When my bus screeched to a stop on the side of the road, I looked up to see the Benevity
company’s sign on top of a huge building. “Here goes” I thought as I followed the other girls off
the bus. As soon as we stepped inside the building, the elevator doors in front of the main door
opened as if someone inside had been waiting for us. We started to pile inside and when the
elevator was full, the doors closed, leaving us to fly up to the seventh floor, where all the magic
would happen.
When the elevator doors opened yet once again on the seventh floor, we stepped out to a
hallway with numerous animation drawings on the walls. I wondered what they were there for
but my attention was immediately drawn to something else. I could see double glass doors
leading into a place where I thought I would really like to work someday. There were couches
instead of chairs and beanbags in places of formal work desks. We all walked in, in awe that this
could actually be a company that people worked for. I felt as if I were walking into my
childhood, right into a giant barbie house. We were introduced to the staff and were toured
around the workplace. The more time I spent, learning about what the company was about, the
more I proved myself wrong and the more I thought that this was where I potentially wanted to
spend my work hours someday. The best part of it all? The dogs!!
We were lead to a meeting room where there were introductions and icebreakers. We
were honored to be joined by everyone’s favourite dog, Bella! I believe that the dogs play a very
important role in the society of Benevity. To me, they represent the fact that Benevity is a very
welcoming place where anyone, of any gender, or ethnicity are welcome to come together and
work as a team. The dogs are there to create a comfortable environment for everyone who works there as are the beanbags and couches. There were so many places where people could show their creative side and just bring out the child in them. We were all really impressed with the workspace and had a really fun time getting to know each other and the women who worked
there.
The most of the day was spent teaching us about computer software and different career
paths that are available for us girls (and guys!). We learned that even though some stereotypes
and previous bias may suggest that most scientific jobs need men to fill their spots, girls have
just the amount of capabilities to achieve our goals and find opportunities. I found it interesting
that the biggest goal of the company was to make sure that all the people working there felt
included and welcome in the overall company environment. After the icebreakers and
introductions, we got a chance to write down questions or just personal confessions (called
‘braves’) that we put into jars to be answered later. We got to learn both visually and auditorily
about what the role each person/mentor fit into. I found out that a company that works majorly in the computer science scene also need people to be part of numerous other teams, such as human resources, and marketing. There are just so many possible jobs available at Benvity, all of which are unique and special, making them suitable to anyone, and everyone.
“Every person is conscious of making the workplace a better place…” This quote from an
employee at Benevity intrigues me as it reminds me of the time I spent at Benevity. It sums up
their motto and goal so perfectly and shows why it is different than other companies. Although
people may think that all computer software jobs are basically the same, I believe that the
workplace has a big tipping weight on the scale of whether you like your job or not. The theory
is simple. If the people and physical workplace surrounding you is best suited to your every
needs, the job you have will seem more enjoyable and pleasant. As this is Benvity’s goal,
everyone who works there says that they feel comfortable with the people around them and look forward to coming to work everyday.
Walking out of the Benevity doors, I hoped that it would not be my last time seeing the
elevator doors close and the glass doors open. I could see myself possibly having a career there
and I laughed at myself for being so doubtful by isolating myself from the career I thought
should be occupied by a boy. I looked up at the sky, and seeing the clouds got reminded of my
favourite quote. “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me” - Ayn
Rand. Who is going to stop me? Who is going to try?
Now, looking back at my experience at Benvity, I would like to thank Observation
Minerva for creating a program that will benefit girls everywhere. I wish to let my mentors, and
the Observation Minerva program know that everything they did to support and encourage me in choosing a career in STEM really did open my lens to a broader perspective on computer science careers. I hope that more girls around the world will realize that stereotypes exist to be broken by people who believe, who know in their abilities, and are yet to realize the full extent of their capabilities. Much like a mountain, stereotypes are possible to overcome if one learns that it is not the destination that matters but the journey it takes to get there. I hope that one day, any little girl can walk into the toy store and be interested in buying a chemistry kit, instead of a barbie house or a nail polish kit. I hope that every girl, starting now will get encouraged by people around them to consider pursuing a career in STEM and will be able to find female role models to look up to.
I hope that girls around the world will learn to color outside the lines.
