Darya Terani

I didn't take a conventional path to college. The pandemic hit right when I was trying to transfer. I did a lot of things in the meantime, trying to wait until school could be back in session. I did take a lot of classes. I kept learning. But I also worked a diverse set of jobs that didn't have anything to do with my industry. I traveled, I did everything I could in that time instead of staying stagnant. It made it more clear of what I would like to do than what I wouldn't like to do. I feel more equipped at life and I have a stronger sense of self because I didn't do things the way everybody else wanted it. I did it the way I wanted it.

Not to let other people project their limitations on what you think you can do. If you want to do something by all means and you believe hard enough, you can get it done. Especially growing up in immigrant households, I broke a lot of cultural norms. I prioritized my education when people told me I didn't necessarily need it. Went to double major and get a minor and then also build this all in the same time. So I never let their limitations define who I can and will be. What makes someone else more qualified than you? A lot of people that are much less qualified but much more confident end up getting opportunities. You just have to believe that you deserve to be in those rooms.

Be okay with being underestimated and use that to your leverage. A lot of times people make assumptions about you when they see you at first. And then when I opened my mouth they were floored. So don't look at it in a discouraging way. Just keep pushing yourself and believing like what you say is relevant matters. And the right people will hear you on that.

There's a lot of opportunities for women of color and women in general because we are a much smaller population within the realm of tech. A lot of the CEOs or people who create startups it is still more male-dominated. I feel like there's a lot of really awesome programs that help uplift women so I've been trying to take advantage of those. You open LinkedIn and there's always somebody recommending something. There's a program in the UC system called the UC Investment Academy. They have stuff for founders and entrepreneurs. We also have an accelerator like a startup accelerator here at the UC Davis campus. I'm trying to take advantage of all of those opportunities to get guidance, to get mentorship wherever possible.

The values that I live by are honesty and integrity. I really just dislike dishonesty. I really just dislike people who don't have a strong moral compass or they feel like they can compromise on things. Family and just having a good relationship not with just yourself but those around you is something that's very fundamental to the way I live. It might be hard but it's better to do it scared than to not do it at all. My parents didn't go through the U.S. academic systems so they couldn't help me. They didn't know how to navigate my struggles so it was mainly me doing it all on my own. There were times that I really didn't think I knew the answer when it came to building my startup, traveling and pitching, taking classes but I just got it done because I knew deep down I'm living testament that things worked out. Every hard thing I've overcome over the span of time.