Maria Zompolas

I am a 29 year old controls and robotics engineer who had to force her way into the field of automation and controls. Getting a degree in industrial engineering and forcing myself to learn robotics and then electrical work has been the most painful, rewarding, wonderful, and humbling experience. I grew up dreaming of being a professional tennis player and dedicating my entire childhood focusing on that goal and eventually was given the opportunity to play division one tennis in college. After a short period of time I realized that while I never would become a professional tennis player, I could become a professional engineer and that has been my new goal as my career has progressed. I grew up in a large Greek family with 4 siblings total and a large extended family constantly pushing me to break boundaries and never settle for being comfortable. I was taught that when you've settled for being comfortable you're no longer learning and advancing yourself and that's been my motto as I have established myself in the controls/integration world of engineering.
Outside of work I am a person who loves the outdoors and all athletics whether that's watching or playing the sport, my two top activities would have to be snowboarding and tennis and I try to travel and plan trips around being able to do those two things as well as explore different states and countries.
Something I learned the hard way in those crucial early twenties is that forcing your way into the STEM field is hard, and finding resources and mentors is even more difficult. Something that I have dedicated a lot of my free time to is speaking to classes and groups and encouraging younger individuals to keep striving to reach their goal. I think it is so important to break the stigma that you need to know everything and if you don't then you can't do something, that is simply not what I have found as I built my career. The number one thing that I found to be most important is the drive to do something and the work ethic to follow through. I'm thrilled to have been asked to participate in this podcast with the Automation Ladies and really love what your motive is about, so thank you for including me!