Haniya Ahmed

Background

About Haniya Ahmed

Imagine a young girl walking into a jewelry store only to ignore the dazzling silver and gold and make her way straight towards the neglected gemological tools instead. That little girl was me a few years ago, and there are thousands of girls like myself all over Canada that are fascinated by how engineering can lead to technological advances in web/app development, game development, devOps, and software engineering as a whole can create practical solutions for the general public. Unfortunately, only a small minority of these thousands pursue this interest by joining a STEM work-field, thus amounting to only 22% of STEM employees in Canada. My name is Haniya Ahmed, and my passion for engineering roots not only from the role engineers fulfill in the workplace, but outside of it as well. Engineering is not only a career choice but a set of values, ones that coincide with my own, thereby providing me with a venue to practice my humanitarianism and creativity and create my own individual impact on the world. My vision as a South Asian, Muslim woman is to inspire other aspiring engineers of all backgrounds by establishing that factors such as religion, race, and gender do not compromise one's ability or capability as an engineer. In the near future I envision a diverse STEM field that promotes inclusivity and hope to play a part in bringing that vision to life. I am currently a full-time student at the University of Calgary and am skilled at wielding CAD software (SolidWorks), coding in Java, C and C++, JavaScript, basic CSS and HTML, React.js, TCP/UDP servers, machine coding in MIPS, have lab experience in experimentation, and have research experience in liver transplant advancements as well. On weekends and holidays, I work at a local business - Calgary Produce Market - as a retail sales manager and bookkeeper. Having worked there for the past few years, I have bonded with many regular customers and openly advocate my decision to pursue engineering so I can dilute the biases surrounding women in engineering. My experiences have allowed the development of many leadership skills, such as effective communication, problem-solving, organization, and critical skills. With my experience and skills, I strongly believe that I would be a great asset for any company that I work with. I'd love an opportunity to connect with you!