The STEM Demystified Digital Portal is now live, a new home for real STEM stories made for teachers, educators, and curious young learners. Built to make STEM feel closer, friendlier, and genuinely possible, the portal brings together global role‑model stories, interactive exploration, and classroom‑ready inspiration. It’s a growing resource designed to help children see themselves in STEM, and to give educators an easy way to bring real‑world representation into lessons. Explore the portal at stemdemystified.com.
Welcome to another edition of STEM Demystified, a project to tackle the under-representation of women in STEM. This weekly Newsletter showcases how women are conquering science, technology, engineering, and mathematics worldwide.
Today, Dr Sarah Mitchell is our STEM role mode. Born in New Zealand, into a family of engineers, Sarah’s fascination with understanding how things work led her to pursue a BE (Honours) in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Auckland. Inspired by her sister’s academic achievements, Sarah earned a Fulbright Scholarship and completed her Master’s and PhD at the prestigious California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Returning to New Zealand, Sarah excelled as a Data Scientist before founding Anadyne IQ, her AI consultancy helping businesses drive efficiency and growth through artificial intelligence and automation. Her story beautifully highlights how curiosity, determination, and the courage to forge your own path can lead to incredible achievements. Let’s explore her inspiring journey and see how she navigated challenges to become a leader in STEM.
What was your trajectory from school to where you currently are professionally/academically?
I studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Auckland because I was interested in how things worked. Coming from an engineering family, it felt like a natural fit. During my degree, my older sister Stephanie got a Fulbright Scholarship and moved to the United States to do her Master of Science and PhD in Aerospace Engineering at Caltech. I wasn’t drawn to any of the industry jobs available in New Zealand, and Stephanie’s experience looked like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I decided to follow in her footsteps. I worked really hard to get great grades and was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship. I was then offered a place in the Mechanical Engineering PhD program at Caltech with a full fellowship. It took Steph a minute to warm up to the idea of her little sister following her across the world!
While working on my PhD, I started hearing more about the field of data science, and realized it combined all the bits I enjoyed most—math, programming, data visualization, and problem-solving. Once I earned my doctorate, I returned to New Zealand and joined an analytics consultancy called Datamine as a Data Scientist. I worked in the development team, building analytics products, which was a great foundation for my data science career.
Next, I moved to The Warehouse Group, a major New Zealand retail group, where I spent several years as a Senior Data Scientist, mainly working on marketing, pricing, and promotion projects. I was then promoted to the team lead role which I really enjoyed, and after several more years, I decided it was time for a new challenge. I took a year off and later founded my business, Anadyne IQ, to help organisations leverage artificial intelligence and automation for efficiency and growth.
Starting my own business has been a great experience. Of course, there’s ups and downs, but I the part I enjoy the most is having the freedom to innovate and shape Anadyne IQ in a way that resonates with me. Every day there’s something new to learn or do, and it is genuinely fulfilling being able to leverage my skills and expertise to help other businesses derive value from technology.
What motivated you to get into STEM? Did you have a female role model or anyone who inspired you? If so, who?
My Dad is a structural engineer and has his own business, so I grew up with engineering conversations being a regular occurrence at the dinner table. I also always enjoyed learning how things worked and my favourite subjects at school were physics and math. This meant Engineering seemed like a very natural fit, so on reflection I feel like I fell into a STEM undergraduate degree.
My sister Stephanie definitely inspired me and helped shape my future career choices. It was watching her experiences that broadened my mind to different possibilities. I’m not sure I would have thought to do a PhD had I not seen Steph do one first!
What’s your most important professional/academic achievement?
I’m most proud of my PhD from Caltech. The California Institute of Technology is a very prestigious technical institution. Some of the brightest minds teach and study there. So, naturally I spent a lot of my time wondering how on earth they let me in. Imposter syndrome strikes again! My time at Caltech was wonderful but also an incredibly challenging experience. The program was very intense and demanding, but I learned so much in ways I never anticipated. My PhD was a pivotal moment in my career and one that set me on the path of data science.
Did you face any challenge throughout your professional/academic journey? How did you overcome it?
There’s been plenty, but the main challenge that always springs to mind is my PhD. That’s probably because it took years of commitment and dedication to achieve it. From my studies at Caltech, I built a level of resilience that has held me in good stead throughout my career. The PhD also taught me the ability to sit comfortably with ambiguity, a key skill for a career in STEM. Despite being challenging at times, I am so incredibly grateful for my PhD experience, and the opportunity to do a PhD at Caltech in particular. Without a doubt it has changed my life in many wonderful ways.
In your opinion, what needs to be done to attract more women into STEM?
I think things are already changing. I saw that Caltech achieved gender parity for this year’s incoming undergraduate class, which is awesome. But there’s always more work to do. Storytelling pieces like this newsletter can be very helpful – it’s much easier to picture what’s possible when you see examples of careers other women in STEM have had. We also need to encourage girls at a young age, so by the time they get to the point where they’re choosing a career path, they know that STEM is not only an option, but also a really great choice!
What advice would you give to anyone looking into a career in STEM (or those who do not consider it)?
Follow the things you like doing and learning about! Your career will span decades, and it will naturally evolve over time. So, whether you start off by pursuing a degree in STEM, or you choose to shift into a STEM role later, what’s most important is to keep following the things you like doing. It’s got to be enjoyable after all!
Dr Sarah Mitchell’s journey exemplifies the importance of pursuing our passions and embracing challenges. From her early fascination with engineering to her transformative PhD experience at Caltech and the creation of her own business, Sarah has continuously pushed boundaries. Her success highlights the value of interdisciplinary skills and the ability to adapt and innovate in a rapidly changing world.
As a founder, leader, and advocate for AI-driven innovation, Sarah is not just shaping the future of businesses but also inspiring others – especially women – to consider STEM as a fulfilling career path. Her story reminds us that with resilience and curiosity, we can overcome obstacles and achieve extraordinary things.
