This episode covers a wide swath of topics from first engineering jobs to transitioning to new functional areas using a STEM background to the importance of soft skills, promoting diversity in STEM, and coming to Penn State as a first generation American. Any Scholar, regardless of major, will pull value from this conversation!

Guest Bio:

Paula Garcia Todd ’03, ‘03g Engineering has made significant contributions in drug delivery through her work at Dow Chemical, DuPont, and now IFF (International Flavors & Fragrances) for the past 18 years and currently serves as the Global Strategic Manager for Pharma Solutions at International Flavors & Fragrances. Her vast experience ranges from process engineering in manufacturing settings with small and large molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients, to researching and creating patented polymer innovations to solve critical formulation issues for pharmaceutical companies around the world. Her technical success led to various customer-facing roles, including marketing and product management, progressing to her current position as Global Strategic Manager at IFF. Paula is passionate about introducing STEM to children. She has volunteered on boards and organizations focused on increasing the number of female and under-represented students in STEM fields, especially engineering, for the past decade. She has developed new K-12 programs aiming to improve understanding of the real world applicability of STEM while changing the face of what an engineer looks like. She has been active in diversity, equity, and inclusion advocacy within industry, working through women’s and Latinx employee resources groups at each of her companies to create awareness and improve company cultures. In 2019, she was named a AAAS IF/THEN® Ambassador by the American Association for the Advancement of Science for her devoted work in STEM outreach and will be featured in a life-sized statue exhibit of outstanding women in STEM fields (debuting in Dallas, TX in 2021). In 2020, she was named both “Woman of the Year in Engineering” by Women in Technology and a “Community Trailblazer” by STEMConnector’s Million Women Mentors. She received the Luminary Award from Great Minds in STEM in 2021. Paula holds a Bachelor of Science with Honors and Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from the Penn State College of Engineering. She and her husband, Doug (also a Penn State alum) have 3 children and live in Georgia.

In the episode, Paula mentions a statue exhibit - it's currently outside the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. through March 27th, 2022 for Women's History Month. 120 3D-Printed Statues of Women Redefine What Scientists Look Like

Episode Specifics:

In this episode, Paula shares her insights on:

· Coming to Penn State and the Schreyer Honors College as a first generation American and as someone speaking English as a second language

· The differences between collegiate culture in Brazil and the US

· Building cultural capital and learning from your network

· Finding involvement that compliments your major and career aspirations – and opportunities that are just for fun

· Resources for Penn State students from historically marginalized identities, particularly in engineering

· Pursuing an IUG – integrated undergraduate graduate degree