Member Spotlight | Meghan Hames

Meghan Hames, Functional Analyst @ BC Transit

Are you a corporate or individual member?  

 I have a corporate membership through BC Transit.

When did you join or learn about iWIST?

We learned about iWIST in January of this year during a Women in Leadership workshop, shortly after that BC Transit decided to expand their membership offering.

Why does this organization matter to you and to the community? 

This organization matters to me because building a culture of support and growth is essential to encouraging women to join STEM and create their own positive imprint in this industry.

What is your background in STEM? 

I do not have a traditional background in STEM. I actually started with Project Management within Construction in the public sector, then moving into Capital Program planning in Finance. Through the various roles I held I had always taken lead with the systems component of each job however felt I wasn’t a typical IT person so avoided pursuing my interest in this area. Through the support of my current employer, I was given the opportunity to work on a project to upgrade our ERP system, through that experience and support from the other women in the team I applied and was promoted to the JD Edwards Functional Analyst position.

On your own career journey how important was it to have/provide peer support? Why?

Without the support of my peers I would have not been able to find my courage to switch career paths and try something that had always interested me. Imposter syndrome is something I am learning more about everyday and realizing the best way to fight it is to discuss your goals with your peers so that you can gain more confidence in what you are capable of and understand that part of the jump is a learning curve and that is ok.

What do you see as an opportunity to support women in STEM? 

I believe by sharing all our diverse stories of how women have joined STEM and the steps they took to find happiness and success will support more women joining STEM at every stage of their careers.

What is the difference between iWIST and other sector-based associations? 

iWIST has a very personal and supportive approach to membership. They are great communicators and event planners so staying engage has been fun and very rewarding.

What do you say when someone asks you about iWIST? 

Come to an event with me! You will meet wonderful people and be inspired to join the community.

What was the most fun you had at an event?

As wonderful as the food was at each event I would have to say it was the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and meet other women on the island that are also in the STEM industry.