Women in Science
by Cindy Hodakoski

     Women hold a very important role in the world of science today.  During the past few weeks, we have been exposed to a large number of women in science who talked to us about their jobs and the journey they took to get where they are today.  One such speaker that caught my mind was Andrea Michalek.  Andrea has her Masters in Computer Science and currently owns her own business which builds technology to categorize searches, making web pages, specifically about the sciences, more efficient.  She also designs web pages for pharmaceutical companies.  One of the most valuable aspects of her life that she shared with us is that she did not follow a straight path to get where she is today.  During her junior year in high school, the Human Genome Project had just begun, and it had a great influence on her life.  She went to Carnegie Melon, where she thrived to get as much experience as possible.  Before school began, she showed up at the door of the chemistry department and asked for a job.  The only opening she was qualified for was to wash glassware, where she gradually moved up the ladder.  After graduating, she has many occupations including work at Pittsburgh Super Computing Center and and also for Aerospace Company.  With a background in computational biology, she then attended Villanova University where she received her Masters in Computer Science, where she was the only woman programmer.  However, that did not bother her.  After receiving her masters, she obtained many jobs, which were not all that she expected them to be.  She was a programmer at a company called Dot Com, which quickly fell under.  She then found her niche when she started her own business called 1-800- CTO.  She was awarded the "30 under 30" award, given to people under 30 who show great success in their job.  Her business is very important.  Without her, important biological knowledge would be difficult to be viewed by the public and private organizations.  Without her background in sciences, the information that she is sharing might have  been inaccurate.  Obviously, Andrea is a great inspiration to all females who wish to pursue a career in the sciences.