Latinas in STEM

Honored to be part of such an inspiring conversation at University of California, Merced!

Carolina Ilic, MCP, AICP from VRPA Technologies, Inc. had the privilege of joining the “Latinas in STEM” student event as a guest speaker and panelist for SHPE UC Merced alongside Jordan Wolf, QISP Marina Garcia Lopez-Arias and Maria Diaz-Ayon. Together, they shared their personal journeys in STEM, discussed common myths vs. facts about working in the field, and talked openly about the challenges and opportunities they’ve encountered throughout their careers.

The panel also included an engaging Q&A session with students, where thoughtful questions sparked meaningful conversations about breaking barriers, building confidence, and creating more inclusive pathways in engineering, transportation, science, and technology.

Thank you to Miranda Cortez, Viviana Pandurini, students and organizers at UC Merced for creating such a welcoming space for dialogue, inspiration, and empowerment. Events like these remind us how important it is to support the next generation of innovators.