Spooky season is here DemoChicks! Are you ready for pumpkin spice lattes and Halloween candy? Continue reading to learn some fun Fall activities and recipes.
First, DemoChicks had the honor to interview Sunny Zia, Engineer Project Manager at the Port of Long Beach. She is an inspiring woman in a non-traditional career that empowers other minority women to stand up for themselves.
Sunny moved from Iran to the US when she was nine years old, and settled in California. She had an opportunity to move back to Iran for high school and college, where she got her Civil Engineering degree. Sunny is a determined and hard-working individual, who took every chance she got to study. This hard work paid off and she was able to be the first to graduate in her college cohort.
After receiving her Bachelor of Science degree, she came back to the US and received her Master of Science in Civil Engineering, with a specialty in Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, at the University of California Irvine and got her Professional Engineering license.
Her college life was unlike most. Iran had recently come out of the bloodiest war in the history of the Middle East at the time when she was in college, with little to no opportunity, so she had to empower herself through oppression and many challenging days and moments. She did this by focusing on achieving scholastic excellence and staying passionate about Civil Engineering.
Sunny always excelled at math starting in her early childhood days with her father as a huge supporter of her pursuing her degree in Civil Engineering. She is thankful she listened to her dad who supported her through every step in guiding her college and career choice in Engineering.
She had many barriers to overcome being a woman in a non-traditional career. In undergrad, in Iran, she not only had to overcome a language barrier but also the challenge in economic mobility and opportunity gaps due to the war. Her field is very competitive, and as the only woman in her cohort, she had to work harder to achieve success and maintain a competitive advantage over her male counterparts. She remembers asking permission from her professors to record the sessions and transcribe them verbatim so she would not miss any seminal points discussed in the classroom.
Sunny also experienced barriers in her career. She describes it as an unfair playing field, especially if you are a minority and woman of color. She emphasizes the importance of not losing who you are and standing up for doing the right thing and the quality of courage when it comes to all issues including supporting women.
"Assumption is the poorest form of knowledge" is Sunny’s motto. Do not assume someone who has a lot of experience or seems strong on the outside, knows better, or doesn’t need to be handled with kindness and care, deep down everyone is fragile. She describes that it is important to have a sharper mind than a sharper tongue.
Sunny's parents were her mentors growing up. Her mother's tenacity and strength always inspired Sunny, and that is where she thinks she got her resilience from. Mother Theresa is another role model for Sunny; she has always admired her self-effacing demeanor and radical compassion and kindness. As far as career role models, Michelle Obama is her biggest inspiration. She admires the resilience she had when overcoming barriers she experienced as a woman of color in her private and public life.
The way Sunny overcomes a lack of motivation is with gratitude. She comes up with at least 3 things she is grateful for each day. Her life abroad and her humanitarian work have made her very grateful for the life she is living. Another motivation for Sunny is the homeless students at Long Beach City College (LBCC) who she helps. She is an LBCC trustee and is inspired by these students who want to make their lives better by continuing their degrees and achieve upward mobility despite not having a roof over their heads.
The most rewarding part of what she does in her professional work is seeing her project's construction plans and specifications are built, come to life, and contribute to the prosperity of the community and economy. In her public life, the most rewarding part is seeing the impact of legislation she works on have a lasting effect on her students' lives and their scholastic and career success. She loves staying in touch with her students while in LBCC and after to support their continued success.
There is no better time to run a 5k than the Fall. The air is crisp and cool! You will find yourself to be more energized and conquer the gloomy Fall days after your run.
Do you love the classic 'whodunnit" movies and books? If so, hosting a murder mystery party is perfect! It is a great way to gather with friends (masked and vaccinated) and get into the spooky holiday spirit!
