Lily Gardam

Background

About Lily Gardam

I knew I was cut out for technology since my first day as a programmer on my FRC Robotics team. Before that, I had dabbled in HTML/CSS, Javascript, and Python. I had designed simple circuits and put them together. I was mesmerized by mathematics and factored my order number in restaurant lines, but I didn’t take any of it as a sign that I should pursue those interests as a career. To me, technology was the world of Leonardo Da Vincis and Isaac Newtons, and it was only when I joined the robotics team that I realized I could have a space in that world too. By signing up, I was stepping outside my comfort zone, but I decided to embrace what I could be instead of what I was. The weeks leading up to the competition went by like a flash. The robot code was to be written in Java, a language I had never used before, yet at the end of the competition, directing the robot’s motor controllers through the code felt quite natural to me. Every part of my hidden interest came to good use in the competition. We studied calculus to understand the code for the robot’s motor controller pulses. I used trigonometry to calculate the angles the robot would need to turn at when moving autonomously. The excitement I felt when the robot moved exactly as I had predicted was like nothing I had felt before. This was what fueled every decision I would subsequently make about my career, and encouraged me to further my learning and seek success. I chased that feeling all the way through my audio engineering education at Berklee College of Music, and into my last position as an A/V Field Engineer. I traveled to sites across New England to commission and configure interactive conference rooms, classrooms, and community spaces. Each set of installed devices had its own set of technical challenges, and in the pursuit of a seamless solution, I interacted and negotiated with clients, and applied my knowledge of IP networks and software to isolate problems. Although each ensemble of devices I worked with was different, the logical thinking and persistence I trained for provided consistent solutions in every situation. To this day, I love solving technical problems and expanding my knowledge. I am currently working towards my CTS as well as learning Android app development, Biamp Tesira programming, and solving the occasional Project Euler problem.