My name is Emily Baker. I was born in Nanjing, China and adopted when I was 2.5. I have lived in Colorado since then. I knew that I wanted to go into STEM since I was in elementary school because I was always curious about how things were made and how they worked. I now work at Medkeeper as a software engineer. We create web applications that are used in hospital pharmacies. It is a very rewarding experience to know that the work I do has a positive impact on people all over the world.

What inspired you to explore STEM when you were young?

I remember tinkering around with old computers and cellphones and was fascinated by their complexity and capabilities.

What do you enjoy most about what you do in your STEM career?

I enjoy that each day brings a new challenge and I’m not stuck doing the same repetitive thing everyday. I’m always learning and trying new things. It allows me to be both creative and analytical.

What is an interesting fact you would like to share with students about your STEM field?

Grace Hopper, one of the first female computer scientists, coined the terms “bug” and “de-bug” as related to computer errors. One day a computer failure stumped Hopper and her team until she opened the machine and found a moth inside! Taping the moth into her log book, she wrote, “first actual bug found.”