Hispanic STEM Career Forum - Technology

On September 29, 2011, the STEM Scholars Program had its third Hispanic STEM Career Forum on Technology.

It all began with a presentation on new technology. A list of some technical careers was also presented followed by an explanation of the new technology that is being developed. For example Castlight compares prices of various medical services at different locations. The demand for transparency as consumers have to take on their own medical costs has brought about the creation of Castlight, which also rates the physicians and hospitals. This technology prompted a conversation between two of our active STEM Scholars who are in fields health related fields to discuss the benefits Castlight can bring about. The conversation allowed the opportunity to inform the students on the Health Informatics Technology field as it is an example of how health care and technology knowledge is combined to create a different needed career. By 2014 all the health care documentation has to be transferred to an electronic environment. The increase of health IT within the health care industry will improve the quality of health care, prevent medical errors, reduce health care costs, increase administrative efficiencies, decrease paperwork, and expand access to affordable health care. Information on this and other fields within the technology branch was provided for the students.


The presentation was concluded with the statement that technology is advancing and there is a need to keep up the technological advances. However, technology may fail and that is where we come in to fix the trouble shoots, which is task that our guest speaker confronts with every day. Javier Rodriguez is the Technical Supervisor for the Communication System Support for the Salt River Project (SRP). He began his speech asking the audience to provide him with some information about them such as: name, major, how technology plays a role in their major, and type of phone they use to communicate. As the Technical Supervisor for the Communication System Support for the SRP, his focus is in the way individuals communicate. As the older generation is oppose to technology and the younger generation is adapting to new gadgets. He mentioned that the technology that was presented in the presentation was more of an information base technology while the technology he works with every day is more an operational network. SRP is working on getting rid of the desk phones and integrating all modes of communication to one system. This will localize any individual no matter where he/she is located and through whatever mode of communication system he/she uses.

Javier began his career in the marines. After, completing his service with the marines he worked for a small company that was contracted by SRP. However, SRP offered him a full time position in the Communication System Support department. As the Technical Supervisor he allows his team to be able to make decisions because the work has to be completed. Javier also mentioned a phrase that stood in my mind: “it is what you can do, not the paper (degree).” Yes, students strive to complete their degree, but it is what you are going to do at work that matters. The action matters more than the theory and that is why he enjoys his work, he gets to solve problems every day. It keeps it interesting. Javier is also pursuing his masters in Technology Management at Arizona State University at the Polytechnic campus.

When asked, what types of careers provide job security, Javier mentioned: Information Technology (IT), Engineering, and Environmental Specialist. Technology is advancing, we need to come up with new solutions to solve our every day problems and we need to take care of our environment. That is why those three careers were mentioned as the jobs with more demand and future. Javier was also asked how he keeps his busy lifestyle balanced with work, school and life. He responded: time management is the key as the task change daily and delegating work. He expects his team to be better than he is at decision making. This makes realize that the work is getting done and it is taken care off. Using different learning techniques to realize when and how do you work best. For him, he performs better under pressure that is why he holds the position he has at SRP. It is all about knowing yourself and what works for you. It is also important to take time for yourself. Do an activity that you enjoy doing every day. As for the soft skills that he sees are important, he mentioned: being comfortable with self, being assertive, and taking risks. As a final question Javier was asked: how is technology going to help us to get to a virtualized, more technical world where we can minimize our foot print? Javier answered: “You! Driven individuals like you.”