Her Story
About Naeemah
Naeemah Small is an AI robotics engineer who has worked on advancing technology initiatives, including teaching robotics and languages to adults and children in Cambodia. Her professional work centers on creating practical applications such as a non-biased hiring program that uses deep machine learning and natural language processing to match candidates based on personality traits and passions rather than traditional resume factors, a process that took her six years to develop. She has also built language learning apps and websites that teach English, French, Spanish, Thai, Hindi, Chinese, and Japanese through interactive methods like gamified stories and pronunciation coaching. Small's educational background includes a technical trade school for computer science, a marketing degree from Berkeley University online, studies toward a master's in statistical mathematics at MIT which she left due to cost, and ongoing pursuit of a business administration degree at Walden University online. She recently received a $2,000 grant from Amazon to support her technology projects. Small attributes her success to her faith in God and belief in herself, emphasizing the importance of putting in effort and time, and she advises young women entering STEM fields to pursue technology, engineering, science, and mathematics because they can create innovative solutions.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Naeemah
01What do you attribute your success to?
God and believing in myself. I pray first and then just do it, putting in the effort and time even if it means working 24 hours straight on a program. Math is exact and trustworthy, and I created my own equations that work.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Believe in yourself and believe in God. People may not help you so you have to do it yourself, put in the energy, time and effort. Do not let naysayers stop you.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Just do it. STEM is fun and exciting. The laziest person can be the best programmer. Women should get into technology, engineering, science and mathematics because we can create things no one else has.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The newer generation acts like snowflakes and feels entitled, not putting in effort or work like Gen X did. They expect help without studying or reading.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
God is most important. Friends are important. Family is secondary as I am divorced and single. I value proving myself despite others thinking I was slow due to childhood surgery.
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