Superpowers: Team-building and collaboration
Professor of Mathematics, West Virginia University
Jessica Deshler discovered early that mathematics rewarded persistence as much as talent. “It wasn’t something that was just easy for me, but it was something where, if I worked hard enough and struggled enough, I could get to the other side,” Deshler says. “It’s all about logic and puzzles and building, and that was something that really appealed to me.” Now as a professor of mathematics at West Virginia University, she is more energized than ever to empower the next generation of STEM students.
Deshler encourages parents to practice simple math with their young kids just as often as they might pull out a picture book and to avoid making math feel intimidating or inaccessible. “It’s nothing to be afraid of, and it’s something we can make fun for kids to try to keep them from being scared away too young and nurture any passion or interest they have.”
She also advocates for young women in particular who want to become involved in the field. When she was in graduate school, male colleagues sometimes implied that her career wouldn’t be taken as seriously if she wore stylish clothes or had a family while pursuing her Ph.D. “I think those things spurred me out of spite,” she says.
Today, when female students come to her office, they see someone who has built a successful career without sacrificing her identity or the life she wanted outside of work. They are reminded that they can be authentically themselves and still thrive in mathematics. “That’s a huge responsibility, but it’s a privilege to be able to get to do those things,” she says. “To tell them, ‘You get to dress however you want, and you get to make the decisions you want about your life.’”
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