Meet Leah C. Murphy: Storytelling in STEM, The Benefits of a Diverse Skill Set and the Challenges Faced by Underrepresented Groups in the STEM Classroom

STEMming in Stilettos with Dr. Toshia

Engineering Career Journeys and Transitions

Leah recounted her journey from a mechanical engineering student to her career in the consumer goods industry, highlighting the challenges she faced, including discrimination and lack of social connections. She emphasized the importance of problem-solving and critical thinking skills in engineering and how these skills are applicable in various fields. Leah and Natoshia discussed the benefits of an engineering background, especially in terms of problem-solving and adaptability. Leah shared her experience of transitioning from engineering to procurement, highlighting the broader career opportunities it offered. Both agreed on the importance of risk assessment in career transitions and the need to prioritize personal wellbeing. Leah also shared her personal experience of taking a leave of absence from her work to assess her career trajectory and wellbeing, which led her to start a career coaching business.

Entrepreneurship: Freedom and Challenges

Natoshia and Leah engaged in a discussion about entrepreneurship, with Natoshia expressing her love for the field and its potential to help individuals find their purpose. Leah emphasized that entrepreneurship requires a different set of skills compared to working in a corporate environment. They both agreed that the choice between entrepreneurship and a traditional 9-to-5 job depends on individual needs and preferences. Natoshia and Leah also discussed the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship, with Natoshia emphasizing the freedom and satisfaction of being her own boss and Leah highlighting the difficulty of the journey but the absence of regrets. They ended the discussion with Leah suggesting the title "It's hard, but I don't regret it" for an upcoming episode.
Navigating Success: Black Professionals' Challenges

Natoshia shared her personal experiences of being the only black person in predominantly white classrooms and workplaces, and how these experiences influenced her decision to mentor and coach young women in STEM. She also mentioned her participation in the "Triumph in the Trenches" anthology project, which aims to highlight the challenges faced by black professionals. Leah discussed her chapter in the anthology, focusing on the challenges black professionals face in navigating success. She emphasized the importance of redefining success and the need to understand the unspoken rules and expectations in the workplace. Leah highlighted her goal of illuminating the challenges and rigged aspects of the system to help professionals make informed decisions about their careers and well-being.
Leah C. Murphy Bio
Purpose-driven, executive coach, author, and professional development expert with 15+ years of Fortune 500 leadership experience. Negotiation practitioner on a mission to teach 10,000 women how to negotiate for better compensation. Focused on transformative partnerships with companies and professional organizations to upskill organizational leaders while creating a differential impact to the bottom line through enterprise leadership strategy and operational execution clients through a custom set of proprietary tools.

Website: http://www.gemsforthejourney.org/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahcmurphy

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You can find out more information about Dr. Toshia here:
https://www.drtoshia.co
STEMming in Stilettos Youtube Channel: https://youtu.be/xAc25J7UH9A