NASA Engineer returns to her roots to inspire the next generation of girls in STEM

There’s no denying Dr Kymie’s impressive achievements. She has worked at the highest levels of space and national security in the United States and contributes to some of NASA’s most complex and innovative engineering projects. Yet, when she addressed the College at a special assembly on Friday, 27 June, she chose to focus on matters she deemed ‘more interesting’.

Dr Kymie spoke of the strong foundation she received at Mater Christi, which allowed her to progress to university and into her high-profile career. She recalled teachers who cared and who gave her the space to talk about issues that were important to her. She said the values and ethics instilled in her at the College have carried her throughout her journey and made her a person of integrity.

“I want to thank Mater Christi from the bottom of my heart. I had the best time here—the best education. Mater Christi challenged me to think and see things in a different way. It set me up for life.”

Dr Kymie also said her ability to deal with setbacks and challenges came from one fundamental lesson imparted by previous Mater Christi Principal, Sister Margaret Keane.

“When I experienced some disappointments during my Senior years at Mater, Sister Margaret told me, ‘Failure does not define you, it’s how you handle it that speaks to your character’. This message has always stuck with me.”

Despite being in the country to advise the Australian government on matters of national cybersecurity, and to deliver a series of keynote speeches, it was Dr Kymie’s down-to-earth, authentic nature and her frank discussions that really struck a chord with our staff and students.

“I have failed countless times in my career. And some of those failures have been catastrophic.”

Specifically, Dr Kymie recounted her time at university, studying Computer Science, when she wrote a program that took down test systems in the Australian Federal Police. She recalled her professor telling her that the reason she had failed was because ‘girls can’t program—they don’t have the mindset’. He also suggested she either accept failure in the course or get a boy to write the program for her.

“When that happened, I decided to keep showing up in his class every day, because I realised that was what Sister Margaret meant. I leant into the failure and graduated as one of only three women that year. I was later the only woman to graduate in the Honours program and complete a PhD in Cybersecurity.”

Similarly, in another example of her application of Sister Margaret’s wisdom, Dr Kymie explained that after starting work at JPL, she had noticed vulnerabilities in its security system similar to those she had seen in the Federal Police. But when she raised her concerns with the JPL CIO, she was told the only way to prove her theory would be to hack into the system, and that would be a federal offense.

In a bold move, Kymie decided to take the risk and proceed. Despite the legalities, and after justifying her actions to the Director of JPL and the FBI, instead of going to jail, she was asked ‘what did you learn?” and ‘how can we fix it?”.

“Ultimately, failure is a necessary part of success. I still get emails today from the Federal Police, regarding that failure. Yet here I am working on cybersecurity for the White House and NASA!”

Following the special assembly, Dr Kymie spent the day visiting students in the classroom and expanding on her work.

She addressed many questions from eager minds, about the likelihood of life on other planets, how long it will take us to inhabit Mars, what happens to astronauts’ bodies in space, the role of AI in space investigation, and whether the aging process slows down in space.

“Mars is exceedingly like Earth. It once had water and a core that rotated just like Earth’s, but its core stopped rotating, and the planet died. We are working to determine what caused Mars to die and what caused its core to stop rotating so that we can stop or slow the same thing happening to Earth. We aren’t working for profit. We are working for the good of humanity.”

Ultimately, Dr Kymie’s hope, through visiting Mater Christi, was to encourage our students to consider a career in STEM, to be bold, and put aside their fears of failure.

“We need more girls in STEM.

You are all so lucky, you are living on the precipice of the most exciting time for humanity, and you can have an impact and be part of this. No other generation has had this much access to space.

The keys to the kingdom lie in Computer Science and Engineering—if you have those skills, you will never be out of a job.

I encourage you to dare.

Have the courage to fail and try again.

Be bold.

Keep pushing.

For the good of the Earth, and humanity.” – Dr Kymie Tan

Some reflections from our students:

“When hearing Dr Kymie Tan speak about her life, what really stood out to me was her message about failure. She said, the only way you can fail is by giving up, don’t let failure define you, let it make you stronger.

Dr Tan also talked out how she was the first women to graduate with Honours in her class, and 1 of 3 women in a class of 200 + students, this was truly inspiring. She showed that it is possible for women to succeed, even when we might be told we can’t.

I will take Dr Tan’s advice with me, and hold it close to my heart, because what she has achieved is truly remarkable.”

Bridie McDermott, 12A

“I loved listening to Dr Kymie Tan. She was extremely engaging and inspiring. As a Year 12 student I really appreciate the words she spoke.

As she was reflecting upon her life and where she is now, she taught us that anything is possible.

What spoke to me personally were the following two quotes - “Failure is not the opposite of success, but part of it” and “Failure is not a setback, it’s a part of the journey. If you’re scared to fail, you won’t ever try to succeed. Take risks. Make mistakes. Learn from them”.

Just as Sister Margaret spoke words that Dr Kymie forever carries with her, I will forever carry these with me.”

Sruthi Ganesan, 12D

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"Dr Kymie Tan's visit was an incredible experience and opportunity that I could never forget. They way she inspired and spoke to us about her time from Mater to her career as a Chief Cybersecurity Engineer at JPL was truly impactful and moving. I'd love to have another conversation with her in the future."

Mikayla Bui, 9B

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