Four women from MCSC share their stories on working in STEM
By Morgan Blackstock, Office of Public Affairs and Communication
Since 1987, the United States has recognized Women’s History Month in March to pay homage and celebrate women’s contributions to history, science, culture and society. Numerous women throughout history made revolutionary and significant contributions to science, technology, engineering and math. From Ada Lovelace to Elizabeth Blackwell, Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, Marie Curie, Chien-Shiung Wu, and Mae C. Jemison. These women paved the way for women in STEM today.
Women are underrepresented in STEM fields, but they have made advancements over the last 50 years. For example, the U.S. Census Bureau shows that in 2019 women in STEM proportions increased to 27%. Women continue to grow in math and physical science occupations, but haven’t made big advancements in computer and engineering.
Whether it is conducting testing and evaluations of new capabilities, managing programs for missiles, supporting cyber defense, or developing new training systems, women in STEM play a role in guaranteeing our Marines have an unfair advantage over our adversaries here at MCSC.
Below is snapshot of the many talented and dedicated women in STEM who support the nearly 500 programs at MCSC.
Joccelyn Coleman, Security Control Accessor Analyst, SEAL Cybersecurity Branch
Growing up in Huntsville, Alabama, home to NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and Redstone Arsenal, Joccelyn Coleman wasn’t a stranger to STEM, but she didn’t see many women in the field. She looked to powerful women like her mother, the late Narkita Greene-Coleman, and pioneers in the STEM field like Katherine Johnson and Gladys West and thought, “if they can do it, I can do it too.”
As a child, Coleman watched her mother work with computers by typing over 50 words per minute and taking them apart to repair or build them. Observing her mother, an entrepreneur who held degrees in non-STEM related fields, teach herself about computers planted the seed. It began to grow in high school after she watched robots come to life during a robotics competition.
“[The competition] blew my mind,” shared Coleman. “From there, I was interested in artificial intelligence, computer science and programming. I watched [the students] put in code to perform tasks, and then the robot performed them and more. At the time it was kind of creepy, but also really cool.”
Coleman is now a Department of Defense Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation scholarship recipient. She supports information system security managers, officers and engineers of various Program Managers and Portfolio Managers within MCSC. She is also a member of the support team of the Marine Corps-wide tool, the Marine Corps Certification and Accreditation Support Tool, which is used in support of the assessment and authorization process.
Coleman’s experience in STEM has been “enlightening, fulfilling and difficult at times.” However, she felt others didn’t always view her as competent or treated her differently than her colleagues and peers. Instead of letting that discourage her, it gave her the motivation to prove them wrong.
“On the flip side, I’ve had several people extend a hand and say, “Hey, let me help you and push you into the right direction,”” said Coleman. “And I love that, but that’s not always the case. If it were, we would have more women in STEM.”
Coleman believes that if we “break the mold” of our work environments that don’t always foster inclusivity, then we are one step closer to being more diverse. The workplace has to be accepting of different types of people.
“With different diverse backgrounds and knowledge levels and even personnel, you can accomplish so much more and be an accurate diverse representation to those looking up to us,” shared Coleman.
Coleman encourages young women to go after STEM careers.
“Go after it, never give up and take up the space,” shared Coleman. “You have a support system of other women in STEM who have paved the way for you thus far. We are excited for you as you excel forward and make your presence known in the STEM field.”
Tanya Bonilla, Computer Scientist at Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity
Becoming a programmer was a journey for Tanya Bonilla. As a millennial, she grew up with access to the internet and social media. However, she never thought much about computer science until she discovered Tumblr.
“I was a huge Justin Bieber fan. Because of him, I was on the internet a lot. So, like any 12 year old trying to support their idol or their role models,” said Bonilla, “I was on Tumblr. Tumblr users started programming because they wanted to make their blogs look pretty. But Tumblr allowed you to work with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.”
Tanya acquired basic coding skills and used free online resources to learn more about computer programming. Due to the difficulty, she stopped practicing until she found her love for math. With the encouragement of her peers and teachers, she became a computer science major.
Throughout college, Bonilla faced challenges and often felt uncomfortable being one of the only women and Latina in the room. She learned she wasn’t alone in this feeling and set out to create a community for women in her field.
“I started an ACM [Association for Computing Machinery] Women Computing Club with my friends,” explained Bonilla. “A lot of us had the same issues and feelings that we were trying to communicate and felt we could relate to one another.”
The ACM Women Computing Club stayed active after Bonilla graduated. The group allowed her to make lasting friendships and create a network of women to lean on. The group regularly meets to talk through issues, prepare for job interviews, and discuss any difficulties they’re facing in their fields. Bonilla shared how outreach and advocacy projects like this are important to her.
“I’ve very passionate about [advocacy and outreach] because I didn’t have that growing up, shared Bonilla.” My STEM career has been lonely at times. I didn’t really have anyone to look up to or talk to about my interest because they didn’t understand what I was talking about.”
Bonilla believes to achieve more diversity in STEM, we need to create spaces for having conversations about the lack of diversity as well as continue to do outreach with the younger generations.
“We have to focus on the younger students and start introducing them to [STEM] when they’re younger,” explained Bonilla. “When they are at a place where they start deciding what they want to do, they’ll have STEM in mind.”
To young women considering careers in STEM, Bonilla tells them to “make sure your voice is heard” and to remember you are as “capable and intelligent as anyone else in the room.”
Today, Bonilla is a computer scientist at MCTSSA supporting the Common Hosting Environment program. In addition, she is the STEM Liaison for MCTSSA for K-8 schools.
The daughter of an electrical engineer, Julia Morgan learned about engineering at a young age. Her father would often bring her to work with him to see his projects. Morgan explained how some of those programs are still used today or have influenced the approach to new programs. When the topic of a college came up, he encouraged her to follow in his footsteps in electrical engineering.
“There was never a discussion about me being a woman,” explained Morgan, “It was never a factor one way or another. It was just ‘you’re good at math and you like science.’”
Morgan is a graduate from Lehigh University where she received her Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. She also received a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from John Hopkins University. Throughout her college experience and most of her career, Morgan has experienced minimal animosity.
“Whether someone is capable of getting the job done or the ability to learn how to do a job has nothing to do with gender,” said Morgan. “Communicating effectively impacts your ability to get the job done. People of different generations, different cultures, and different genders all communicate slightly different. If you don’t acknowledge that you’re not speaking the same language, then you’re going to run into roadblocks.”
Morgan believes that having outside colleagues or mentors can lead to more diversity in STEM. Different perspectives lead to better problem solving and collaboration. It is critical to lean on your peers for insight, while also creating spaces where people feel safe and accepted.
“We’ve created policies [to create safer work environments], but I don’t think they’re necessarily enforcing the policies in the workplace,” explained Morgan. “Step one is to create a safe, professional environment, then encourage our children to go into [STEM].
Morgan recounted how one of her favorite memories is conducting rocket experiments with her son for his science class. Additionally, her children would use simple baking soda and vinegar recipes to conduct a variety of experiments. While other parents were reading their children nursery rhymes, Morgan taught her children about binary numbers.
“It’s a fun field. I definitely recommend anybody going into [STEM],” shared Morgan. “It’s very satisfying to see concepts come to life and then testing it. The development part is fun.”
To all the young women considering careers in STEM, she expressed how it’s essential to understand that creating a successful work environment for yourself correlates to your ability to do or learn the job and “effectively communicating” with peers and leaders. It’s also important to be well-rounded and have activities outside the workplace.
STEM is still a very male-dominated field, so it’s essential to have groups or activities to satisfy that feminine side, said Morgan.
Today, Morgan is the Lead Project Engineer for Team Ground Launched Cruise Missile developing the Long Range Fires system, a USMC Tomahawk launcher. She is responsible for supervising the development, integration, and testing of the launcher system, reload/ resupply system, and the communication system that contains the Tactical Tomahawk Weapon Control System. Before coming to MCSC, Morgan served as the Deputy Chief Engineer for Joint Project Manager Chemical, Biologicals Radiological and Nuclear Protection and supported Naval Sea Systems Command in missile defense.
Kendra Woodruff, Lead Systems Engineer at Program Manager Training Systems
Family members who were civil engineers introduced Kendra Woodruff to engineering. With an affinity to math, Woodruff’s dad enrolled her in an engineering club where she was able to shadow engineers, and throughout middle school, she attended mechanical camp each summer.
“My parents were really good about understanding what their kids were interested in and making sure we at least got to dip our feet in to experience if we like it,” explained Woodruff. “If we didn’t like it, they would let us move onto something new.”
Despite an introduction to engineering at a young age, Kendra Woodruff dreamed of being an athletic trainer where she could be on the field helping players. She soon learned injuries didn’t sit well with her. One day she walked into a computer science class, liked it, and changed majors.
“I got my undergrad in computer science with hopes of working at Pixar one day,” said Woodruff. “I worked in gaming technology coding getting me steps closer to Pixar. Then, I got my master’s degree in systems engineering from the Navy Post Graduate School. That’s when I decided I wanted to move more into requirements and analysis.”
Woodruff shared her overall experience in STEM has been “great,” and she has always had supportive teammates. She’s felt adversity in the past regarding career advancement, but no longer experiences it.
“Talking with colleagues who are also in STEM, that’s been our collective experience,” explained Woodruff. “Leadership sometimes doesn’t see our worth. It has always been a delicate balance in finding that. I’ve found that at TRASYS. I’ve found a good balance of leadership who believes in you and holds you accountable and where your peers believe in you too.”
Every team Woodruff has been on has only had a couple of women. She believes we can encourage more diversity in STEM by removing stereotypes. Young women can enjoy engineering, math and getting their hands dirty and still wear dresses. It is critical to show a diverse representation to young women through outreach opportunities to combat stereotypes.
“There’s a stereotype for women engineers. When [young girls] see someone who’s completely different from that stereotype, not wearing steel toed boots and jeans but in heels wearing makeup…a girly girl, a sorority girl, a cheerleader, they think, ‘Oh, wait, I can do both,’” explained Woodruff.
Woodruff is a lead systems engineer from Naval Systems Warfare Center Corona who supports PM TRASYS. Additionally, she is the lead systems engineer for Combined Arms Command and Control Training Upgrade System and the Marine Air-Ground Taskforce Tactical Warfare Simulation (MTWS).
STEM Outreach at MCSC
Many scientist and engineers attribute their inspiration to choose a career in STEM to a mentor, parent, or engaging in STEM activities at a young age. Seeing science come to life through hands-on experimentation and activities is eye opening to many children.
MCSC participates in multiple STEM outreach events each year with the hopes of inspiring the next generation of engineers and scientist. The command’s largest event is the annual weeklong STEM Summer Camp for MCSC’s workforce children and students from Quantico Middle High School. Campers spend the week conducting science experiments to spark curiosity in STEM.
To learn more about MCSC STEM efforts, visit https://www.marcorsyscom.marines.mil/stem/.
