According to a recent report by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute, the United States needs to fill 3.5 million STEM jobs by 2025. Unfortunately, over 2 million of these positions are expected to remain vacant. To address this shortage, it is crucial to tap into the potential of young, multicultural, and innovative talent.

Kamani Padayachee works as a business process analyst at Boston Scientific Corporation. At a recent Women of Color STEM Conference, Kamani was honored with a Community Service in Industry Award.

Throughout 2019, Kamani conducted more than twenty STEM-related events sponsored by Boston Scientific, which reached out to over a thousand K-12 students.

Additionally, she connected the Massachusetts STEM Council with the South Asians in Leadership employee resource group of Boston Scientific. Kamani also organized health camps in India where cancer screening was provided to women and basic healthcare needs were met for children. She aims to replicate these camps wherever the company operates.

Presenting the Community Service in Industry Award at the Women of Color STEM Conference, Brad Sorenson, a senior vice president at Boston Scientific, emphasized the significance of acknowledging trailblazers who are spearheading the development of the next groundbreaking solutions.

Sorenson expressed gratitude towards industry leaders, executives, students, and future leaders in the STEM field who are making significant contributions. Sorenson emphasized the importance of diversity and inclusion in developing innovative technologies for the future.

During her acceptance speech, Kamani shared her humble beginnings. As the seventh child of a factory worker, she grew up with little resources. However, her parents were always hospitable to those in need, despite having nine mouths to feed on a single salary.

Kamani's desire to give hope to others was further shaped by Boston Scientific's values, which they continue to uphold through their global health camps.

Recently, Kamani returned from India where she impacted over 1,000 children, which has only strengthened her resolve to help "just one more child." She also shared that her early experience in the United States led to lasting friendships with the family she worked for.

Arundhati Desai holds the position of business process manager at FCA US LLC. She is proud of her achievement in enhancing FCA's reporting in compliance with the federal guidelines of the Transportation Recall Enhancement Accountability and Documentation Act (TREAD).

The reports provide information on consumer complaints and property damage claims. In the past, TREAD reporting to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was inaccurate which resulted in FCA paying a $70 million fine. They were also required to resubmit 294 reports within eight months, dating back to 1994.

Desai's decisive leadership in resubmitting the FCA TREAD reports was pivotal in improving the company's performance. She also oversaw a complete overhaul of the system.

Despite her current success, Desai humbly remembers a time when she was not as proficient, despite earning a master's degree in computer engineering from Wayne State University.

During the early stages of her career, she was given the responsibility of creating a presentation for executives that involved cost estimates. However, when the executives began to ask specific questions, they soon discovered that she was not adequately prepared.

Looking back, Desai acknowledges that she should have requested time to prepare instead of attempting to rush through the presentation.

According to Desai, it's crucial for students and young professionals to acknowledge that they are only human. However it's equally important to handle mistakes with a constructive attitude.