Issue link: http://endeavor.uberflip.com/i/1058114
JAEL POZO, MECHANICAL DESIGN "Qualifications at ASTI have nothing to do with age or gender. I'm a young woman, passionate about technology, and going against all the stereotypes. But because ASTI empowers my passion, I feel like I can show girls that this can be their future too." 11 S P OT LI G H T: A ST I maintains industrial autonomous vehicle systems for the biggest corporations. Veronica sees a huge opportunity for ASTI—not only because by credible estimates robots may be performing 45% of all manufacturing tasks within the decade. Equally as important to Veronica is building up a highly employable workforce. The company launched ASTI Academy and College, programs dedicated to fostering job experience and training in STEM and hard sciences for vocational and college-aged students. So far, ASTI has dedicated over 10,000 hours and trained over 100 students—70% of whom ASTI themselves hired after. "Even in school, through ASTI Foundation, we encourage girls to pursue STEM careers," said Jael Pozo, a 23-year-old Mechanical Designer who started working at ASTI when she was 19. "Qualifications at ASTI have nothing to do with age or gender. I'm a young woman, passionate about technology, and going against all the stereotypes. But because ASTI empowers my passion, I feel like I can show girls that this can be their future too."