Impact Stories: Sharmin

From Literature Lover to Tech Talker

SharminAttention, English majors. When someone at the next family gathering mutters, “How can you earn a living with a degree in English?” tell them about Sharmin Kent.

Kent, originally from Fort Wayne, Ind., has successfully applied an IUPUI liberal arts graduate education with jobs involving cutting-edge technology and the people behind it – those coders, developers and designers who use “techspeak” more than plain English.

“I found early in my career that communication skills are vanishingly rare. Even the most basic ways of communicating can be really difficult for the average human,” she said. “Then you add in tech, which isn’t human at all, and communication just gets harder.”

The young woman who always dreamed of becoming a literature professor saw an opportunity to humanize technology. Since then, she’s been able to teach, write for publication and work with some of the largest and most popular software and tech firms in Indiana.

Telling Tech Tales
Kent brings a human element to technology by telling stories.

“No piece of software can have a personality. It’s the users and creators who have the personalities,” she said. “So, when we need to talk about what tech can do, that’s who I talk about.”

For instance, at Octiv, she created content for a company that integrates systems data to streamline client workflows. And at her current employer, Studio Science, a typical project involved analyzing research data and translating techspeak to help client Bloomerang refresh its brand identity after acquiring a competitor.

“Part of my job as content strategy lead for that project was to determine which elements of each brand we should keep, how to position them in the marketplace, and write new value propositions and the mission, vision and values,” she said.

Although Studio Science has opened its doors to Catapult students for years, Kent first became involved with Nextech after meeting Director of Student Experiences Jill Van Oostenburg at an earlier job. Soon after that encounter, this person who said she “never saw myself as a tech person” became a popular volunteer, working with Nextech programs and speaking at conferences.

‘I Never Saw Myself as a Tech Person’
Kent said she hadn’t imagined herself as a tech person when she was dreaming of teaching literature – and not just because she was a writer and a book lover.

She is also a Black woman. Like everyone else, she sees few people of color and even fewer Black women in tech.

From the TrustRadius 2020 People of Color in Tech Report:

“According to a demographics analysis from Wired, Black, Latine, and Native tech professionals make up less than 5% of the workforce at major tech companies. Representation is a key component to attracting people of color to the tech industry, as well as ensuring an inclusive environment. … While the tech industry seems to be improving upon including more POC, it may still not be moving at a fast-enough pace to significantly combat racial inequality and achieve representation within its workforce.”

“It’s not a surprise to anybody, but the real turning point for the tech industry was June 2020 after [the murder of] George Floyd,” Kent said. “There was this almost instant outcry and recognition of inequality in tech – and then crickets. A lot of Black and brown folks have been doing the work to get people like us [into jobs], but we haven’t seen much effort from tech companies.”

She said she gets it: People recommend and hire who they know. However, Kent said, the nature of the tech industry makes culture important.

“You’re putting in really long hours, and you have this absolute devotion to the idea that software can change the world. So, when you’re working 50, 60, 70 hours a week on something you care so much about, you want to like the people you’re standing beside,” she said.

Kent believes the tech industry tends to support the hire-who-you-know mentality. Besides its impact on hiring, this way of thinking has ramifications in the software being developed.

“Why is the default character in video games still male? Because of who’s writing the code: mostly men. You do what you know. If what you’ve done has always worked and if you don’t value diversity, then who you hire doesn’t matter to you.”

In a 2018 blog for Techpoint, Kent commented on a panel discussion about how Indianapolis “can choose inclusion and win the future.” The group agreed that rather than being the sole responsibility of individual POC to network and help each other gain access, it’s the tech companies that “must do more to reach out and cultivate a more diverse talent pool.”

For instance, “Organizations like Nextech are devoted to helping build a more diverse pipeline from high school and beyond — but the issue for many Black and brown candidates is access, not education. That might mean the onus is on Indianapolis tech companies to facilitate networking opportunities from post-high school to mid-career,” she wrote.

‘Follow your bliss’
Letting POC and girls know about all the opportunities in tech needs to start early.

“I don’t know that computer science is the mysterious ‘black box’ that it used to be, because now you can see computer science in everything. But there is a disconnect for girls, kids from lower-income families, kids of color – they don’t always have people who can help them connect the dots between an app on their phone and who made it or how.”

Students might want to create video games or build an app – but without computer science, they have no idea where to start or even who to ask.

Her advice to young people?

“Follow your bliss. Whatever it is you’re into – theater, music, math, whatever – find people who like what you like, adults who do what you want to do and can steer you toward a career in what you like to do,” she said. “What are you good at? What do you share with your friends? And it’s OK not to know yet! Nextech does a great job of opening students’ eyes to possibilities.”

This mom has some advice for parents and school administrators, too.

“Parents are doing so much right now, and teachers are doing more than they are being paid to do. If there’s anything I’d suggest, maybe it’s to give your kids grace. Give them room to be confused, to try things, to be themselves,” she said.

From Literature Lover to Tech Talker

Sharmin

Attention, English majors. When someone at the next family gathering mutters, “How can you earn a living with a degree in English?” tell them about Sharmin Kent.

Kent, originally from Fort Wayne, Ind., has successfully applied an IUPUI liberal arts graduate education with jobs involving cutting-edge technology and the people behind it – those coders, developers and designers who use “techspeak” more than plain English.

“I found early in my career that communication skills are vanishingly rare. Even the most basic ways of communicating can be really difficult for the average human,” she said. “Then you add in tech, which isn’t human at all, and communication just gets harder.”

The young woman who always dreamed of becoming a literature professor saw an opportunity to humanize technology. Since then, she’s been able to teach, write for publication and work with some of the largest and most popular software and tech firms in Indiana.

Telling Tech Tales
Kent brings a human element to technology by telling stories.

“No piece of software can have a personality. It’s the users and creators who have the personalities,” she said. “So, when we need to talk about what tech can do, that’s who I talk about.”

For instance, at Octiv, she created content for a company that integrates systems data to streamline client workflows. And at her current employer, Studio Science, a typical project involved analyzing research data and translating techspeak to help client Bloomerang refresh its brand identity after acquiring a competitor.

“Part of my job as content strategy lead for that project was to determine which elements of each brand we should keep, how to position them in the marketplace, and write new value propositions and the mission, vision and values,” she said.

Although Studio Science has opened its doors to Catapult students for years, Kent first became involved with Nextech after meeting Director of Student Experiences Jill Van Oostenburg at an earlier job. Soon after that encounter, this person who said she “never saw myself as a tech person” became a popular volunteer, working with Nextech programs and speaking at conferences.

‘I Never Saw Myself as a Tech Person’
Kent said she hadn’t imagined herself as a tech person when she was dreaming of teaching literature – and not just because she was a writer and a book lover.

She is also a Black woman. Like everyone else, she sees few people of color and even fewer Black women in tech.

From the TrustRadius 2020 People of Color in Tech Report:

“According to a demographics analysis from Wired, Black, Latine, and Native tech professionals make up less than 5% of the workforce at major tech companies. Representation is a key component to attracting people of color to the tech industry, as well as ensuring an inclusive environment. … While the tech industry seems to be improving upon including more POC, it may still not be moving at a fast-enough pace to significantly combat racial inequality and achieve representation within its workforce.”

“It’s not a surprise to anybody, but the real turning point for the tech industry was June 2020 after [the murder of] George Floyd,” Kent said. “There was this almost instant outcry and recognition of inequality in tech – and then crickets. A lot of Black and brown folks have been doing the work to get people like us [into jobs], but we haven’t seen much effort from tech companies.”

She said she gets it: People recommend and hire who they know. However, Kent said, the nature of the tech industry makes culture important.

“You’re putting in really long hours, and you have this absolute devotion to the idea that software can change the world. So, when you’re working 50, 60, 70 hours a week on something you care so much about, you want to like the people you’re standing beside,” she said.

Kent believes the tech industry tends to support the hire-who-you-know mentality. Besides its impact on hiring, this way of thinking has ramifications in the software being developed.

“Why is the default character in video games still male? Because of who’s writing the code: mostly men. You do what you know. If what you’ve done has always worked and if you don’t value diversity, then who you hire doesn’t matter to you.”

In a 2018 blog for Techpoint, Kent commented on a panel discussion about how Indianapolis “can choose inclusion and win the future.” The group agreed that rather than being the sole responsibility of individual POC to network and help each other gain access, it’s the tech companies that “must do more to reach out and cultivate a more diverse talent pool.”

For instance, “Organizations like Nextech are devoted to helping build a more diverse pipeline from high school and beyond — but the issue for many Black and brown candidates is access, not education. That might mean the onus is on Indianapolis tech companies to facilitate networking opportunities from post-high school to mid-career,” she wrote.

‘Follow your bliss’
Letting POC and girls know about all the opportunities in tech needs to start early.

“I don’t know that computer science is the mysterious ‘black box’ that it used to be, because now you can see computer science in everything. But there is a disconnect for girls, kids from lower-income families, kids of color – they don’t always have people who can help them connect the dots between an app on their phone and who made it or how.”

Students might want to create video games or build an app – but without computer science, they have no idea where to start or even who to ask.

Her advice to young people?

“Follow your bliss. Whatever it is you’re into – theater, music, math, whatever – find people who like what you like, adults who do what you want to do and can steer you toward a career in what you like to do,” she said. “What are you good at? What do you share with your friends? And it’s OK not to know yet! Nextech does a great job of opening students’ eyes to possibilities.”

This mom has some advice for parents and school administrators, too.

“Parents are doing so much right now, and teachers are doing more than they are being paid to do. If there’s anything I’d suggest, maybe it’s to give your kids grace. Give them room to be confused, to try things, to be themselves,” she said.

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