Get Inspired To Pursue Your Passions For Future Careers Like These Extraordinary Women

By Chloe Cornell and Ryan Hammel

Summer allows us the free time to pursue our personal interests, start a hobby or indulge in a passion. It just so happens that sometimes these passion pursuits lead to actual careers!  Below are some extraordinary stories of young women who transformed their unique interests and skills into real world businesses. In honor of Youth Skills Day on July 15th, we encourage you to get out there and discover your specialty, just like these inspirational women.

Look at the Stars and Learn About Space Like Amber Yang

By Ryan Hammel

Amber Yang is an 18 year old who attends the Stanford University in California. Yang developed a program to track space junk, which is what is left over from satellites and rockets that float around space. She started researching in her sophomore year of highschool, according to an interview with CNN. She looked at current tracking methods (ground and space-based sensors and radars) and predictive methods. By 2016, she turned to artificial neural networks (a computing system designed to replicate the learning process of the human brain), which can be used to identify patterns like orbital debris paths. Using computer modeling software with a neural network tool, She began programming software of their own. She added coordinates of space debris that were publically available online. This program she developed is 98% accurate, which is more efficient than the methods used by any NASA scientists. She recently founded Seer Tracking which helps space travellers avoid floating space matter which can pose a serious risk to flights in space.

Since her invention, Yang has been extremely successful and has won many competitions for her intelligence. In the summer of 2016, before her senior year in high school, she attended the Summer Science Program in Astrophysics and calculated the orbit of a near-earth asteroid. Then as a high school senior, she won the $50,000 Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award, the second-highest award at the 2017 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair against a field of over 1,700 competitors for her work on creating an artificial intelligence based computer system capable of tracking and predicting the orbits of space debris.In March 2017, Amber was named as a finalist for the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the oldest and most prestigious high school science competition. Yang has also been featured as an invited speaker for NPR’s Science Friday and Teen Vogue.

Learn to Code Like Karlie Kloss

By Chloe Cornell

One of the most vital skills to have in the 21st century is the ability to code. Computer science is a component of every industry in some way and coding is an essential tool for internships and jobs. It is widely acknowledged that the computer science industry, along with other science industries, lacks women because not enough girls have had the opportunity to learn how to code. Because of this scarcity, Karlie Kloss, an American model, entrepreneur and coding enthusiast, created the program Kode with Klossy. Created in 2015, Kode with Klossy is a free annual two-week camp in Miami for girls from ages 13-18 to learn how to code. Even without attending Kode with Klossy, you can still develop your computer science skills this summer and consequently make yourself more attractive and prepared for your future career.  

Start a Business Like Mikaila Ulmer

By Chloe Cornell

Another exciting way to spend your summer is to create a business. No matter the size or story behind your business, if you bring a lot of passion, it can turn out to be a huge success.

Running a lemonade stand may seem like an inefficient way of generating a lavish profit, however, the now 12 year old Mikaila Ulmer became a business sensation with her creative and delicious lemonade. When Ulmer was four, she invented her special lemonade, which contains honey as its sweetener instead of sugar, for the Acton Children’s Business Fair. At nine years old, Ulmer secured a $60,000 investment on Shark Tank for her lemonade business. At 11 years old, she partnered with Whole Foods in an $11 million dollar deal to sell her lemonade at their stores across the country. Now at 12 years old, she is the CEO of her company and her thriving lemonade company “Me & The Bees” donates a portion of its profits to protect honeybees.

Read Books and Become an Author Like Samantha Shannon

By Chloe Cornell

In addition to summer required reading, reading your personal selection of books during the summer is a relaxing and mind strengthening activity which helps enhance your vocabulary. Reading also exposes you to different thoughts and writing styles, assisting you in developing your voice and opinion for creative writing papers. When Samantha Shannon was 20 years old, she wrote a seven part book series entitled The Bone Season. Five years later, the series is printed in 28 languages. The science fiction novel which takes place in 2059 is now being adopted into a movie, however, they haven’t revealed the release date yet.