{"id":93497,"date":"2019-11-07T08:00:35","date_gmt":"2019-11-07T16:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/?p=93497"},"modified":"2025-07-21T13:37:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T20:37:14","slug":"celebrating-national-stem-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/celebrating-national-stem-day\/","title":{"rendered":"The STEMs of Backblaze: How We Got Here"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Science,<\/p>\n

November 8th marks the celebration of National STEM day, calling attention to the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) in young peoples’ education. Without these programs encouraging young minds to enter STEM fields, we would be hard-pressed to find the Backblaze staffers of the future. As such, a day like this is something we have to celebrate here in our office.<\/p>\n

Many of our teammates missed out on the educational initiatives around tech that exist today, but they did not let age, gender, or socioeconomic status stop them from reaching the top of their respective fields. So in honor of the day, we decided to share some of their STEM-related stories with an eye toward inspiring you. Whether they rouse you to dig into your own mid-career shift, or to encourage your kids to consider STEM, or to send an application our way<\/a>, we hope these stories add to your understanding of how helpful STEM can be in any life.<\/p>\n

The STEMs of Backblaze<\/h2>\n

From Crash Bandicoot to Front End Developer<\/h3>\n
\"Steven
Steven Peniche, Front End Developer at Backblaze<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Steven<\/a>, a front end developer at Backblaze, started out as a bellman at the Greenwich Hotel in New York City, but his love for digital media\u2014beginning with games like Naughty Dog\u2019s work of art, \u201cCrash Bandicoot\u201d\u2014encouraged him to sign up for a boot camp for web development called Bloc<\/a>. After 6 months, Steven launched into the work force with one mission: To make the world a better place, one product at a time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat love for video games became a love for technology and software,\u201d said Steven, reflecting on his early years in tech. \u201cAs I grew older, played more games, discovered the joys of dial-up internet and witnessed cable TV move into the high definition era, my interest for what powered all of these sources of entertainment peaked.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Tina
Tina Cessna, Backblaze VP of Engineering<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Taking the Leap to Director of Engineering<\/h3>\n

Not everyone is as confident as Steven, though. Would you just walk into a coding bootcamp with no experience? Intimidation can be a big reason why someone shies away from working in a STEM related field. Our Vice President of Engineering, Tina<\/a>, believes that you should not shy away from intimidation. She believes that embracing your jump into the unknown will help you find the fun in your field of work.<\/p>\n

\u201cNever think that you are not good enough or smart enough to learn anything,\u201d said Tina, when asked what advice she would give to young engineers. \u201cI feel like there is a misconception that engineering is boring or for geeks or whatever and that\u2019s not true at all. And also, just because it is a male dominated industry doesn\u2019t mean other women shouldn\u2019t just go for it. It\u2019s actually really fun once you start doing it. Essentially, just don\u2019t let the intimidation get to you. Anyone can learn it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And she speaks from experience: Tina was the only woman in her Electronic and Computer Engineering classes at California State Polytechnic University-Pomona, but now she\u2019s running Backblaze\u2019s engineering efforts. Without her, our engineering team would not run as smoothly and efficiently or have projects like extending your version history<\/a> release on time!<\/p>\n

\"A
Sona Patel, Backblaze Sales Operations and Enablement Manager<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From Microbiology to Backblaze Sales Operations and Enablement Manager<\/h3>\n

Tina makes a good point that most people tend to miss: the difference between the impossible and something that just makes you uncomfortable. Sona<\/a>, our Sales Operations and Enablement Manager, spent her undergrad years preparing to attend med school. But when it came around to applying for post-grad programs or applying for jobs, she realized that her biological sciences degree qualified her for a range of different positions beyond the medical field.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo something that makes you uncomfortable,\u201d said Sona, reflecting on what she would tell her younger self when starting out. \u201cBecause if you fail you fail, but if you don\u2019t fail you might be opening up a door to something that you didn’t even know you wanted to do.\u201d Embracing her discomfort allowed Sona to explore other careers, like working as a microbiologist at Shasta Beverages, Inc. and, now, being our go-to person for implementing software to supercharge our sales efforts here at Backblaze.<\/p>\n

\"Chris
Chris Bergeron, Director of Technical Operations at Backblaze<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Experimenting with Technical Operations<\/h3>\n

This is true for our Director of Technical Operations, Chris<\/a>, who started as a system administrator after stepping away from the college path because he felt more comfortable with a hands-on learning experience. Chris had always tinkered with computers and software during his summer breaks from school so he felt confident that this field was the right place for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cTry things. Experiment. The sooner you get plugged into a social network of some kind in your field, like a group or a club or an open-source project, the sooner the world will open up for you,\u201d said Chris. \u201cBecause the people you meet will come from all different walks of life you will see all the different things they do and some of them might be interesting and different than what you initially thought of doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s toying with computer motherboards like Chris did, stargazing, app building, or even setting up your shot in basketball, chances are that your hobbies have roots in STEM. The average person indulges in these related activities without even knowing it.<\/p>\n

\"Amanda
Amanda Beach, Senior Accountant at Backblaze<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Art, Dance, and Programming Sequences<\/h3>\n

Amanda is our Senior Accountant and her father, Brian, is our Distinguished Engineer. When she was younger her hobbies were art, dance, and… learning about programming sequences.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like [doing math] came very naturally,\u201d said Amanda. \u201cI grew up in a very math-friendly household. My dad started teaching me algebra really early. They were excited about it so they both did software engineering and programming. They would, \u2018just for fun,\u2019 teach me programming problems and I would be asking them about matrices and things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, we don\u2019t all have brilliant engineers for parents, but that doesn\u2019t mean that Amanda\u2019s experience isn\u2019t useful. STEM programming is all about giving young people exposure to science, technology, engineering, and math in ways they can relate to. With Amanda, that was programming problems. But school systems all over have adapted STEM programs to their curriculum to build enthusiasm for kids who like to tinker with robots or treat math problems like a competition. You can even bring it home for your own family. The trick is to find fun, science-related activities that help kids continue to expand their excitement for these fields.<\/p>\n

It might seem hokey, but it can be fun. For instance, at Backblaze, we still do STEM style experiments, like the day we used bubbles and a fog machine to test the air flow in the office (as seen in the video below).<\/p>\n