Influential Woman · Computer Science, Technology, STEM, Entrepreneurship
Kinjal Pandey
Data Scientist, UMass Amherst Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
Amherst, MA
Her Story
About Kinjal
I have been working in technology for a little over four years, and the journey has been both incredibly rewarding and challenging at times. As a woman of color in STEM pursuing graduate education, I am very aware that representation becomes increasingly limited at higher levels of the field. At the same time, I think there is more awareness, encouragement, and visibility now than there has been in the past, which makes me optimistic about where the industry is going.
One thing I have learned is that the scope of technology is much broader than simply writing code. Especially in the age of AI, we are still discovering how deeply technology can influence areas such as healthcare, accessibility, transportation, education, security, business, and everyday decision-making. That is what makes the field exciting to me. I enjoy the technical side of building systems, but I am equally interested in understanding which problems are worth solving and how technology can translate into something meaningful in the real world.
A typical day for me reflects that mix. I may start with graduate classes at UMass Amherst, then move into brainstorming or working on a pitch, collaborating with teammates, researching an idea, writing and testing code, or building an application. I also make a conscious effort to network and learn from people outside of my immediate environment. LinkedIn and professional communities have been especially valuable to me because I genuinely enjoy meeting people, hearing how they built their careers, and discovering opportunities or perspectives I may not have encountered otherwise.
Entrepreneurship has become an increasingly important part of that journey. Recently, my team won the uPitch competition at UMass Amherst, which was an especially meaningful milestone because it gave us more than just monetary support. The early validation of our idea was important, but gaining access to professors, investors, mentors, and entrepreneurial resources has been even more valuable. Coming from a STEM background, entrepreneurship has pushed me to develop skills in areas such as pitching, strategy, customer discovery, and business development that I would not necessarily encounter through computer science alone. It has helped fill gaps in my knowledge and made me think differently about what it actually takes to turn an idea into something people can use.
Creativity is another important part of who I am. I began modeling while I was at Virginia Tech and became interested in it because I loved the creative process behind a shoot—the ideas, styling, movement, photography, and collaboration required to create a final image. Modeling gives me a very different form of expression from my technical work, and I value being able to pursue both rather than feeling that I have to fit into only one professional identity.
Outside of work and school, I care deeply about animals and try to volunteer whenever I can. I also spend a lot of time looking after my rescue cat. Ultimately, whether I am working on an AI project, preparing a startup pitch, participating in a photoshoot, meeting someone new, or volunteering, I try to end the day feeling that I learned something, created something, or contributed to something meaningful.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kinjal
01What do you attribute your success to?
There have been a lot of people who have helped me along the way. I’ve had professors at UMass who have supported me, mentors who have given me guidance, and a family that has always encouraged me.
But if I had to point to one thing, I would say it’s my own motivation. I’ve learned that the biggest changes usually have to start from within. That internal drive is what keeps me going, especially when I’m balancing school, research, projects, entrepreneurship, and everything else. I genuinely care about the things I work on, and I think that passion is what makes it possible to put in so much time and still stay excited about what comes next.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Don’t put yourself in a box.
It’s easy to start defining yourself by your major, your current job, or what people expect someone with your background to do. But none of those things have to determine the rest of your career. You can branch out, learn something completely different, and discover interests you never expected to have.
I try to stay open to that. There may always be another field, idea, or opportunity that challenges you in a new way. I don’t think you should ever reach a point where you decide, “This is all I can be.”
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Stay confident in yourself, especially when you enter spaces where you may not immediately feel represented.
There will sometimes be people who underestimate you or don’t take you as seriously as they should because of assumptions or biases they already have. You cannot spend all of your energy trying to change every person’s perception of you.
You have to learn to be your own biggest cheerleader. Keep building your skills, keep showing up, and keep reminding yourself why you chose this path in the first place. Confidence doesn’t mean never doubting yourself; it means continuing to move forward even when that doubt shows up.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think AI has created one of the most interesting moments we’ve seen in technology because the same changes that create opportunities also create new challenges.
On the opportunity side, knowledge has become much more accessible. It is easier than ever to learn new concepts, experiment with tools, build prototypes, and enter areas of technology that once had a much higher barrier to entry. That opens the field to far more people and makes it possible for young professionals to build things much earlier in their careers.
At the same time, AI has made authenticity much harder to distinguish. It is increasingly easy to replicate polished writing, designs, code, and ideas. That means younger professionals have to find ways to show what is genuinely theirs: how they think, what they care about, and what perspective they bring to their work. I think the challenge now is not simply producing something polished, but creating something that actually feels original and meaningful.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Being true to yourself and understanding why you are doing something are probably the values I come back to the most.
I think people do their best work when they feel personally connected to what they are building. That could come from caring about sustainability, human rights, accessibility, animals, education, or any other issue that matters to you. When there is a real reason behind the work, it stops feeling like something you are simply completing because you have to.
That matters because meaningful work often asks more of you than the minimum. There will be long hours, setbacks, and periods when progress is slow. Passion gives those efforts a purpose. And when you eventually see something you worked on making even a small difference in the real world, that is what makes the work feel worthwhile.
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