MLGW has 2770 employees; 752 (27%)
are women. Of the 752 women, 143 (19%) hold STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) positions. On the second
Tuesday of every month, we will introduce you to a different woman working in
STEM at MLGW.
Sandra
Hicks’ first interest in STEM fields came when she was a sophomore in college
and was ready to declare a major. “I remember one Christmas break going through
the Memphis State catalog and trying to determine what I wanted to do as a
career. I loved math and did very well
in it, so when I saw Computer Science included eight different math courses, I
figured that was the major for me!” she says.
At
the time, there were not very many females in the computer science field
minoring in Management Information System computer programming, so she was determined to continue the
course. She started her career at MLGW 30 years ago as a computer
programmer and later became database administrator for a mainframe system and
an Oracle DBA (database administrator).
For
the past 11 years she has been in the Business Intelligence/Data Warehouse area
where she is the Lead Business Systems Analyst responsible for extracting and
analyzing data for company reporting and dashboards.
We
asked Sandra a few questions to get to know her better.
What do you do in your current
position?
I am responsible for making sure the data from source systems such as
the Oracle E-Business Suite's HR/Payroll, Finance, Enterprise Asset
Management, Procurement and Spend, as well as many other applications at
MLGW, are loaded into our warehouse databases to
provide data solutions
to our users through analytical reports and dashboards.
What's interesting or cool about
what you do?
I get an
opportunity to work with a diverse group of people and various areas
around the company. I work closely with Finance, Work Management, HR and
many other areas to gather user requirements and assist with finding data
solutions to any issues they may have. As a result, I gain
exposure to many of the processes that help make our company function
on a day to day basis.
Why
would you encourage girls to pursue STEM careers?
Even now, some girls still
believe that careers in science, technology, engineering and math are
for males to pursue. If math, for instance, is your passion, there
are many opportunities in this field and it is very rewarding with good
pay. Because there's no turning back when it comes to technological
advances, now is a great time to get on board.
What advice would you give your
younger self?
Realize your strengths
early and research a variety of careers that would allow your strengths to
become your career. Pursue your dream career with confidence.Did you miss our other installments of #SheCanSTEM? Meet Arnisa Davis, Kelsey Seiter, Debra Higgins, Kerry Roy, Cynthia Jones, Juanita Ford and Shleah Whitlock.
