On May 26, the FemSTEM club had the pleasure of welcoming Cecilia Cosa, ASB parent to Juan Gutierrez Cosa (Grade 10) and aunt to Olivia Cosa Torrent (Grade 10), as a guest speaker.
Cecilia holds a PhD in physical chemistry, and she was the first to tell the class that this has absolutely nothing to do with where she ended up. Her career has moved from chemistry and business to the global head of sustainability role at Disney, and now to biotechnology, proving that a STEM career does not have to be linear.
The field you study does not define the ceiling of what you can do. What matters far more is your willingness to take risks, step outside your comfort zone, and trust that the skills you have built will carry you forward.
This message has come up before in FemSTEM's guest speaker series, and it is one worth repeating. Watching Cecilia describe her transitions not as detours but as deliberate moves driven by curiosity and openness to learning made it feel real in a way that was genuinely moving for the class.
What struck students most deeply, though, was Cecilia's conviction about innovation. For her, true innovation is not about one brilliant mind solving a problem in isolation. It is about bringing as many different perspectives as possible to the table, breaking down complex challenges in creative ways, and solving problems collectively. She spoke about this not as an abstract ideal but as something she has seen play out in her own work.
Hearing her articulate that vision so clearly and knowing she has lived it across multiple industries gave the students a real sense of why the work they are doing together matters.
Thank you to Cecilia for sharing her time and her story so generously. And thank you, as always, to our ASB families for supporting an environment where young women are encouraged to stay curious, keep going, and never feel boxed in by where they started.
A Farewell and a Welcome
This session also marked a meaningful transition within FemSTEM. We thank outgoing seniors Ellie Kothari and Naomi Coca Shimizu, who have led the FemSTEM group and its activities over the past two years. We are so proud of everything they have built and wish them all the best as they take their next steps.
At the same time, we are excited to welcome juniors Elna Kristensson and Masha Smirnova Fadenko as the new leaders. Elna and Masha stepped up to lead this final session of the year, and they will carry the program forward into next year. We cannot wait to see where they take it.