Growing up at home my dad was a computer programmer, self taught, and my mom worked in bakeries and other jobs as she could to help support our family of 5. Neither of my parents received college degrees - although my mom earned two associates degrees after the three of us kids left home. They worked hard to support the three of us to go to community college as it was all they could afford. My older sister received her degree in elementary education. My older brother dropped out of college and joined the national guard where he received some education as a radar specialist. Me - well I was always the one interested in how things worked! I was always over my dad's shoulder as he worked to repair our cars, the garden tiller, or anything that needed fixing because we could not afford to pay anyone to fix it. I took apart our tape recorder (ha, telling my age) just to see what it looked like and figure out how it worked. This was my passion - learning how things worked, taking things apart, and putting them back together - problem solving. So in college I majored in Physics! Come to find out there is A LOT of math behind learning how things work!! So I double majored only needing one extra class to get a Mathematics degree as well. Hours and hours were spent at the kitchen table crying over trigonometry, statistics, and calculus problems! No one in my family had done it before and no one could help me. We didn't have tutoring available and we didn't have the on-line access to help like kids do now. One day as I was crying over a 3 page Calculus problem I swore to myself that I would remember how to do this stuff and be there for my kids and any others that I could help on their way!
Fast forward 20 years and guess what - it is now time for me to make true on that promise, five kids later - 3 of whom are in college. My daughter is taking Trigonometry and Calculus in the same semester right now. She is not here at home, but sent me a Snap Chat one day just a few weeks ago that said, "Done - just finished crying over the first Calculus assignment"! A light went off in my head and the super mom cape got put on - here I come to the rescue!!! This is MY time to follow through on my promise to myself! So week by week we are now on Facebook Messenger video walking through Calculus problems one by one and step by step! I have to wipe the cobwebs and are thankful for google and Photo Math, but it is all coming back!
All of this to say, STEM is my passion! I love introducing these concepts to all kids, big or small, especially when they happen to be my own! I love seeing the light of knowledge light up in their eyes when they "Finally Get It!" Is it hard? Yes, sometimes! But is it worth it? Absolutely!
Fun, interesting, engaging - STEM keeps me coming back to a job I love at Emerson where we "Consider It Solved"!
Respectfully,
Jennifer Urquhart
ASQ SSBB
Senior Lead Manufacturing Engineer
Emerson Process Management | Rosemount
8200 Market Blvd. | Chanhassen | MN | 55317 | USA