Unlike many other women in engineering, I did not have a clear vision of who I would be when I grew up. I always did well in school and I enjoyed everything that I did. I had a father that believed I could do anything, a mother who worked full time and expected excellence in all things, and the ability to learn.

So, in my senior year of high school I won a bridge building contest in my physics class and decided I wanted to design roller coasters or bridges. I headed down the path of civil engineering to become the best roller coaster designer the world had ever seen. Then reality hit! I hated my classes, felt like I was designing from a cook book, and really wasn't feeling the hard hat, sewer and sanitation planning, and road design.

So in truth, I pretty much stumbled into Mechanical Engineering through a process of elimination, preference for classes, and gentle nudges from the university guidance counselors. But once there, I started gravitating towards new technologies, business models, and creative solutions to real problems. I realized I was a product person at heart and that I had a unique ability to match creative new solutions to customer pain points.

A good product manager for a disruptive new technology can have incredible influence on the success of a new product in the market.