Dr. Ranee Shenoi began by sharing her background with the audience. Shenoi explained that her purpose was “not to dazzle,” but to illustrate that, despite being a woman, despite being a minority, success is still a real possibility.
One of the first times that she heard she couldn’t succeed was in the seventh grade; she asked the teacher whether she could be the president of the United States, and her teacher told her she couldn’t. She wasn’t born a citizen. To make matters worse, when she went home and talked with her father about it, he said that even if she were born a citizen, the fact that she was a woman and wasn’t white were enough to make it impossible.
In describing her family’s views on gender, Shenoi showed India as being deeply patriarchal. She explained, “My parents, though educated, they were of similar thinking.” She then recounted a youth in which her parents typically talked about her brothers’ careers and about the prospect of her marrying a man with a promising career.
“To me, this was disempowering, to depend on someone else,” elaborated Shenoi.
It was 1974 when Shenoi’s father immigrated to the United States so that her brothers could live better lives. “He got a job in Houston… by 1976, all six of my family members had immigrated to the United States.”
“My oldest brother became an engineer, the second became a lawyer, the third, he became a medical doctor,” said Shenoi. She said her brothers worked hard and that they served as her role models.
Shenoi’s parents ware determined not to let prejudices get in the way of their family’s success. They tried diligently to assimilate into American culture. Her father was concerned about the barrier of race and assumed gender to be a barrier for Shenoi.
“I was determined to get out of this predestined future,” said Shenoi, expressing dissatisfaction with the idea of living a life limited by race and gender.
According to Shenoi, the key was education. She left the girls' school and, instead, started attending a boys’ school where her education focused more on math and science.
“You have to be true to yourself… follow your passions, [and] build tolerance to family passions,” said Shenoi.
In time, she went to college to study chemical engineering. She explained that, “Chemistry 101 was probably our biggest weed-out class.” Later on, however, her persistence paid off. Class sizes shrank and her grades improved.
When she graduated, she faced a bad job market. She also decided that she, “Wanted to be around people and to help make a difference.” The combination of these factors led her to decide “to go into medicine.”
At the start, she wanted to ensure that medicine was right for her. Shenoi explained, “I volunteered at a local hospital just to make sure I could handle the sights and sounds.” From this experience, she found that she really liked interacting with people.
When the MCAT came, Shenoi did well.
In contrast to her parents’ skepticism toward higher education for women, Shenoi has come to firmly believe that “education is never a waste.” It helps an individual contribute to society and, when at home, it helps an individual contribute to their children’s knowledge.
While in medical school, Shenoi learned to spread out work and to stay ahead. There was one point in time during which all of her exams regularly fell on Mondays and she had to memorize a lot and just couldn’t do it all in one night. She faced further problems, like dating a classmate and having to keep it secret from her other classmates. On the brighter side, Shenoi and her boyfriend at the time married and are still together.
Shenoi worked in Denver, then in Golden, then moved on to her own practice. One bit of advice she offered was to “be professional in your dress and your speech to garner respect.”
Recently, Shenoi took a course at Mines offered by the biomedical engineering program to help merge her engineering and medical experience. With that experience, she has moved over into being a consultant in accident analysis.
Shenoi closed by offering life advice, ”Remember that you have the power to control your destiny.”
One of the first times that she heard she couldn’t succeed was in the seventh grade; she asked the teacher whether she could be the president of the United States, and her teacher told her she couldn’t. She wasn’t born a citizen. To make matters worse, when she went home and talked with her father about it, he said that even if she were born a citizen, the fact that she was a woman and wasn’t white were enough to make it impossible.
In describing her family’s views on gender, Shenoi showed India as being deeply patriarchal. She explained, “My parents, though educated, they were of similar thinking.” She then recounted a youth in which her parents typically talked about her brothers’ careers and about the prospect of her marrying a man with a promising career.
“To me, this was disempowering, to depend on someone else,” elaborated Shenoi.
It was 1974 when Shenoi’s father immigrated to the United States so that her brothers could live better lives. “He got a job in Houston… by 1976, all six of my family members had immigrated to the United States.”
“My oldest brother became an engineer, the second became a lawyer, the third, he became a medical doctor,” said Shenoi. She said her brothers worked hard and that they served as her role models.
Shenoi’s parents ware determined not to let prejudices get in the way of their family’s success. They tried diligently to assimilate into American culture. Her father was concerned about the barrier of race and assumed gender to be a barrier for Shenoi.
“I was determined to get out of this predestined future,” said Shenoi, expressing dissatisfaction with the idea of living a life limited by race and gender.
According to Shenoi, the key was education. She left the girls' school and, instead, started attending a boys’ school where her education focused more on math and science.
“You have to be true to yourself… follow your passions, [and] build tolerance to family passions,” said Shenoi.
In time, she went to college to study chemical engineering. She explained that, “Chemistry 101 was probably our biggest weed-out class.” Later on, however, her persistence paid off. Class sizes shrank and her grades improved.
When she graduated, she faced a bad job market. She also decided that she, “Wanted to be around people and to help make a difference.” The combination of these factors led her to decide “to go into medicine.”
At the start, she wanted to ensure that medicine was right for her. Shenoi explained, “I volunteered at a local hospital just to make sure I could handle the sights and sounds.” From this experience, she found that she really liked interacting with people.
When the MCAT came, Shenoi did well.
In contrast to her parents’ skepticism toward higher education for women, Shenoi has come to firmly believe that “education is never a waste.” It helps an individual contribute to society and, when at home, it helps an individual contribute to their children’s knowledge.
While in medical school, Shenoi learned to spread out work and to stay ahead. There was one point in time during which all of her exams regularly fell on Mondays and she had to memorize a lot and just couldn’t do it all in one night. She faced further problems, like dating a classmate and having to keep it secret from her other classmates. On the brighter side, Shenoi and her boyfriend at the time married and are still together.
Shenoi worked in Denver, then in Golden, then moved on to her own practice. One bit of advice she offered was to “be professional in your dress and your speech to garner respect.”
Recently, Shenoi took a course at Mines offered by the biomedical engineering program to help merge her engineering and medical experience. With that experience, she has moved over into being a consultant in accident analysis.
Shenoi closed by offering life advice, ”Remember that you have the power to control your destiny.”
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