Janice Levenhagen-Seeley
ChickTech
Portland, OR USA
"I want my daughter to be able to say, 'I can be girly, giggly, funny, and silly, and still be hella smart, make whatever I want to make, and totally compete in this field,' whatever field it may be."
Career Roadmap
Janice's work combines: Engineering, Non-Profit Organizations, and Teaching / Mentoring
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
I had several teachers tell me to quit various activities for fear that my teen pregnancy would make the school look bad or that I would somehow reflect badly on them. My parents were also not supportive of me. I didn't quit or drop out, I kept pushing through. Eventually, I got support from some school advisors that helped me pick out a college to go to and succeed.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Computer Engineering, General
Oregon State University
Graduate Degree
Business Administration and Management, General
Willamette University
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
As a teenager, she experienced discrimination against women firsthand-got pregnant at 16 and felt like people started rooting against her.
2.
No one expected her to graduate from high school, but she actually worked really hard to make sure she'd get good scholarships.
3.
Went to Oregon State University, studied computer engineering with minors in French, business, and computer science.
4.
After she graduated, she had impostor syndrome-had the feeling that no matter how well she did, she wasn't good enough.
5.
Applying to jobs and going to interviews terrified her, gave her panic attacks because she felt like she was a "fraud."
6.
At the same time, she had two offers pulled after they found out she was pregnant with her daughter.
7.
Instead of conforming to these big companies, she started her own company-ChickTech.
8.
ChickTech shows high school girls that you can own your femininity and still get an awesome job in the tech industry.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Teachers:
You should just quit. You are going to give us a bad name.
How I responded:
I had several teachers tell me to quit various activities for fear that my teen pregnancy would make the school look bad or that I would somehow reflect badly on them. My parents were also not supportive of me. I didn't quit or drop out, I kept pushing through. Eventually, I got support from some school advisors that helped me pick out a college to go to and succeed.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I was a teen parent, I had my son when I was 16. It was a very small town, very conservative, I remember my parents were really disappointed. I'm still not sure they've forgiven me and my son is 14 now.
I was considered not as smart because I was feminine or girly. Feminine and science or feminine and engineering in our minds are never seen together. So I had imposter syndrome.