Current work
Jessica’s STEM highlights have been creating her business ‘Zeun Digital’ and then taking the plunge to move away from this to collaborate with one of her customers after they offered her company the opportunity to join them. Together, they are building their first mobile app ‘fluttr’ which is a safe and secure dating platform that protects the user’s data and prevents scams, predators and fraudulent activity.
Her STEM journey
During school, Jessica’s year group was the first year to have the option to select GCSE IT. Because of this, the subject was a very popular choice, and it was oversubscribed. The school suggested that all the girls should instead choose ‘office studies’, as it was more appropriate for their future careers and ICT was more of a boys subject. Consequently, only a handful of girls undertook the IT GCSE.
For her university degree, her teachers encouraged her to pursue English as a preferred subject, however not choosing to do IT resulted in her feeling unsatisfied. Therefore, she soon chose to change subjects and enrolled on a degree in Computing and IT Management at Sheffield Hallam University instead.
Throughout her career, she has experienced, firsthand, the barriers to women in STEM. These barriers included a lack of confidence and comments about women’s abilities in these roles.
STEM highlights
Jessica had pursued her passion for ICT, despite the barriers that were posed. She now works with a company in an area that she is passionate about and believes in.