Each month, the Reinvented team votes on a Member of the Month based on factors including dedication to the team, team spirit, and contributions to Reinvented. This month we had so many great members we chose two! We are beyond proud to call Aashni one of our volunteers and are thrilled to recognize her as one of our January Members of the Month!
Aashni Patel | Ambassador Program Director on the Operations team
Education: I go to Georgia Tech and study Industrial and Systems Engineering!
How did you get involved in STEM?
I grew up in a super tech-heavy family where both my parents and a lot of their cousins were engineers! A cousin of mine graduated college with an Industrial Engineering degree and I still remember visiting her while she was working at Caterpillar Chicago and deciding that I wanted to work for cool companies in amazing cities like she did, as an Industrial Engineer. In high school, I got involved with STEM more through robotics which gave me amazing opportunities and introduced me to some of my best friends!
Why did you join Reinvented Magazine?
I joined Reinvented because I really wanted to be part of a community of people looking to make positive change, especially on an issue so close to me. Since joining, I've met some inspiring women that motivate me to work as hard and as passionately as they do. From thinking about what Renee would do when tasked with strategic planning or asking fellow staff about the colleges they went to while I was applying, they have been there for me and made me an even better version of myself.
Who is your favorite female STEM role model?
I'm lucky to be surrounded by so many inspiring women in STEM to look up to, but if I had to choose I'd go with a judge I met at a robotics competition my senior year of high school. At this competition, my dad introduced me to his judging partner and told me she was an Industrial Engineer, the same major I decided I would apply to colleges with at the time. She was talkative and bubbly just like myself and essentially convinced me IE was the right place for me! I didn't think about her much until I joined reinvented where I met someone with a similar name, our very own CFO, Erin Mitchell. Erin answers every IE question I could dream of, gives me FREE advice on my resume and college classes, and most importantly, serves as my "this is what I want to be when I grow up" image.
Do you have any hobbies outside of Reinvented?
Talking (a ton, to anyone who will listen), baking (but only soft pretzels and crepes), listening to music a little too loud, and aspiring to have the style as good as the fashion YouTubers I love to watch.
What is your favorite quote?
"Two little mice fell into a bucket of cream. The first mouse quickly gave up and drowned. The second mouse, wouldn’t quit. He struggled so hard that eventually he churned that cream into butter and crawled out."
― The greatest movie of all time, catch me if you can