The victory of becoming the first Mexican woman to earn her Ph.D. in physics at Stanford University was hard-won for Dr. Deborah Berebichez (pictured), who’s faced objection to her desire to work in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, since childhood.

“I was told from a very young age that physics was for geniuses and that I had better pick a more feminine path. … When I confessed to my mom in high school that I loved physics and math, she said, ‘Don’t tell the boys, because you’ll intimidate them, and you may not be able to get married,’” Berebichez said.

Berebichez, who was the co-host of Discovery Channel’s “Outrageous Acts of Science” TV show (2012–2014), said that type of forbiddance only encouraged her. “That kind of overt bias is sometimes easier to combat than the one that some women experience, which is a more subtle bias. … It almost gave me more courage to try to fight against it,” she said.

Now the chief data scientist at Kaplan Inc. (DBA Metis), Berebichez recently sat down with Rebecca Knight (@knightrm) and Jeff Frick (@JeffFrick), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing event in Orlando, Florida. They discussed her arduous journey into — and undying passion for — the STEM field, as well as talked about her words of wisdom for marginalized groups looking to follow in her footsteps.

‘Don’t be shy,’ says Berebichez

Berebichez agreed to study philosophy instead of physics, but the more she tried to stifle her love for the hard sciences, the more drawn to the work she became. She decided to continue her education in the U.S., where she met a graduate student who would soon mentor her in the field she dreamed to someday work in.

“[He] decided to mentor me and tutor me 10 hours a day for eight weeks,” she said.

After excelling in her academic career, Berebichez then reached out to Steve Chu, who was, at the time, a recent Nobel Prize in Physics winner, and she was soon invited to begin her career working with him at Stanford.

The guidance and support Berebichez received catapulted her into the life she’d always dreamed of and inspired her to give back. “That’s how my mission in life started, to inspire encourage and help others — especially women — but minorities who, like myself, want a career in STEM but for some reason, whether it be financial or social, feel that they cannot achieve their dreams,” Berebichez said.

Her television show, “Outrageous Acts of Science,” is one of her major efforts to illustrate how vital and enjoyable the subject can be. “Science and STEM is behind everyday life,” she said.

At the crux of Berebichez’s success is her curiosity and determination, two traits she’s found essential for anyone looking to advance in the field. “The people who get to the end of the line and succeed in life are not the ones that simply persevere and get everything right. They’re the ones who keep getting up. … It’s the courage to get to the end and persevere even when failure exists,” she concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.

Photo: SiliconANGLE