In this episode of the Women in STEM Podcast, Kelly Shungu sits down with Sonya Lloyd, professional motorcycle racer, biological engineer, and Technical Marketing LDP at Siemens Digital Industries, for a conversation that will completely rewire how you think about what a STEM career can look like.

Sonya doesn't fit neatly into any one box. She graduated with a degree in Biological Engineering from the University of Georgia in 2024, competed in the 2025 FIM Women's World Circuit Racing Championship, and is now preparing for the 2026 MotoAmerica Twins Cup Championship on the Factory Suzuki team, all while working full-time in tech. Her story isn't just inspiring. It's proof that passion, data, and sheer determination don't belong in separate lanes.

In this episode, we get into:

✨ How a Biological Engineering degree shows up on the racetrack from data and telemetry to race strategy

✨ What it's really like navigating two male-dominated worlds: STEM and professional motorsport

✨ Sonya's journey from university to Siemens Digital Industries and why the path was anything but linear

✨ What the FIM Women's World Circuit Racing Championship means for the future of women in motorsport

✨ How Sonya manages a full-time tech career alongside international racing

✨ The unexpected ways tech and racing feed directly into each other

✨ What she'd say to any young woman sitting at the crossroads between passion and practicality

Whether you're a STEM student wondering if your interests are too scattered, a woman navigating a male-dominated industry, or simply someone who needs reminding that there are no rules on what your career can look like, Sonya's story will push you to go faster.

Follow the Women in STEM Podcast:

• Podcast Founder LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-ann-shungu/
• Podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-in-stem-podcast/
• All Links: https://linktr.ee/womeninstem_podcast
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womeninstem_podcast/

Podcast hosted & edited by Kelly Shungu

Podcast edited by Erza Bajskolli

Sharon Samjitsingh is not your average tech founder. She was named TechRochester's Technology Woman of the Year in 2020, counts herself among the Top 100 Women in FemTech and HealthTech, and has built a company dedicated to transforming how we manage respiratory disease, one wearable at a time.

In this special episode, guest host Erza Bajskolli sits down with Sharon to explore how Health Care Originals is closing the gaps traditional healthcare has left wide open. Sharon shares the story behind ADAMM, their groundbreaking respiratory wearable, and the Nightingale service that supports patients in real time. She also gets candid about the economics of chronic illness, the unique strengths women bring to health innovation, and what the next decade of wearable tech could mean for the millions living with asthma and COPD.

This one will make you rethink what it really means to build technology that puts patients first.

Follow the Women in STEM Podcast:

• Podcast Founder LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-ann-shungu/
• Podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-in-stem-podcast/
• All Links: https://linktr.ee/womeninstem_podcast
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womeninstem_podcast/

Founded and produced by Kelly Shungu. Guest hosted by Erza Bajskolli. Episode edited by Erza Bajskolli.

Dr. Claire Malone is not your average physicist. She completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge, hunting for supersymmetric particles at CERN's ATLAS experiment, has met Stephen Hawking, and has since built a career dedicated to making science work for everyone, not just the few.

Kelly Shungu sits down with Claire for one of the most thought-provoking conversations we've had on the show. Claire opens up about why she walked away from research after her PhD, how she navigated academia with cerebral palsy, and why AI is reshaping who gets a seat at the science table. She also introduces the idea of the "Culture of Speed" and makes a compelling case for why it might be the single biggest barrier holding STEM back.

This one will make you rethink what success in science is actually supposed to look like.

Resources Mentioned:

• Dr. Claire Malone's website: www.doctorclairemalonecom
• Course: AI with Insight
• The Lightyear Foundation

Follow the Women in STEM Podcast:

• Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-ann-shungu/
• Podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-in-stem-podcast/
• All Links: https://linktr.ee/womeninstem_podcast
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womeninstem_podcast/

Hosted and founded by Kelly Shungu. Episode edited by Erza Bajskolli.