Sylvia Acevedo has been many things in her life – entrepreneur, CEO and literal rocket scientist.
Her journey on the dirt roads of Las Cruces, New Mexico, Acevedo said, and education was what helped her live the “life of my dreams.”
“I was really lucky growing up in the space age,” said Acevedo, who spoke at McMurry University’s third Garrison Entrepreneur Lectureship and Luncheon Monday.
She dreamed of working at NASA and was talented with data, numbers and math.
Following those dreams eventually led to her Jet Propulsion Laboratory at NASA, an experience she described as “awesome.”
She embarked on a successful career in technology, starting at Apple and then working with companies such as IBM, Dell and other technology leaders at their most senior levels.
She also chaired President Obama’s White House initiative for excellence in education for Hispanics in early childhood leadership, as well as the driving force behind the government’s bilingual education policy for early childhood education.
Acevedo served as the chief executive officer of Girl Scouts of the USA from May 2017 to August 2020 and before that as interim director.
She is the author of Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist and currently serves on the board of Qualcomm.
The Educational Mistake
After working at Dell, Acevedo and three other engineers caught the “entrepreneurial bug,” she said, and started a technology company that they eventually sold.
That bug from their system, another one started buzzing around – education.
At that point, Acevedo joked, she decided to “use my powers for good.”
“When I saw the demographic changes, the scale was really big,” she said. “And since I’m someone who knows big numbers, I thought I could help.”
So she launched a grassroots education campaign that eventually led to her role in the White House and other career opportunities.
The future is bright for girls in science, technology, engineering and math, she said, and one of her key initiatives while working with Girl Scouts was bringing technology-aligned skills into the mix.
Acevedo said she wants to see girls not just as users of new technologies, but as “creators, inventors and designers”.
During her tenure with Girl Scouts, 146 badges were created, “more than at any time in its history,” she said.
A total of 126 were STEM-related, she said.
“What I realized is that we can really help make a difference in terms of the workforce,” she said.
promote dreams
On closer inspection, much of the technology curriculum has been geared toward what boys care about, Acevedo said.
This realization led to partnerships to ensure science and related concepts are taught in a way that is relevant to girls, she said.
“A great example of this is how we’ve been teaching cybersecurity,” Acevedo said.
Cybersecurity means malware, protocols and networks, things girls are often not naturally interested in, and “7- and 8-year-old girls never,” she said.
“We figured out how to create a curriculum that is very relevant to them,” she said. “You make them sit in a circle and give them a ball of yarn.”
Girls pass yarn to each other, and in a short time a visual representation of a physical network has been created.
Then you pick a girl and say she “has a virus,” Acevedo said.
“Even though she was only ‘talking’ to one other girl on the network, the virus and malware is spreading because you’re all connected,” Acevedo said.
It’s a simple but powerful visual image, she said.
“All of a sudden, they realize it’s not that intimidating,” Acevedo said.
Eventually, when girls really care about something, they gain confidence, she said.
Trust, paired with interest, then leads to competence.
Acevedo’s last full year as Girl Scout CEO earned more than a million STEM badges, she said.
“So we were pretty successful,” said Acevedo.
transition nation
The digital economy is “transforming everything,” said Acevedo.
“That’s why we need a workforce that’s really confident and competent,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, it affects whether it’s fashion, medicine, technology or agriculture. Every single industry.”
Right now there is great potential for Abilene and the surrounding region, she said, with STEM education taking center stage.
“As the global supply chain is disrupted, so much is coming back to the States,” she said ahead of her presentation. “And there’s a big opportunity for regional hubs, especially those with digitally educated workforces.”
The “opportunity is now,” she said, provided regions have a strategic plan and the trained workforce to make those goals a reality.
“The government is about to spend $1 trillion to improve our infrastructure,” Acevedo said. “At the same time, companies need to build a local supply chain. So I think there are wonderful opportunities for strong regions.”
Paul Mason, dean of the Johnson School of Business, said Acevedo is a great choice for the lecture series because she grew up in New Mexico, has ties to Texas and has had an exceptionally varied career.
“More than half of our student body (is) female,” Mason said, adding that bringing in a “role model” like Acevedo ideally serves as “an incentive to pursue their own dreams.”
Brian Bethel covers city and county government and general news for the Abilene Reporter-News. If you appreciate local news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.