Breaking Societal Norms: Women Do Belong in STEM

SEASON 2 — EPISODE 2

Breaking Societal Norms: Women Do Belong in STEM (Part 1)

Juliana Pereira is a trailblazer.

Raised by a single mother in Florianópolis, Brazil, she learned early that there is no limit to what women can achieve. Determined, ambitious, and fearless in pursuit of impact, Juliana began college at just 16 years old and earned her degree in journalism. But her vision extended beyond storytelling — she wanted to build, design, and reshape the world in tangible ways.

That desire led her to pivot from journalism to civil engineering — a bold decision that challenged societal expectations and traditional career paths.

Her journey has taken her across five countries, each experience strengthening her confidence, broadening her perspective, and reinforcing her belief that women absolutely belong in STEM fields.

Now at Purdue University, Juliana continues to break barriers and pave the way for future generations of women in engineering.

In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Juliana reflects on resilience, identity, mentorship, and the courage it takes to defy expectations.

Episode Summary

03:46 – Juliana reflects on her remarkable journey spanning five countries and the opportunities that shaped her.
 04:30 – What inspired her to pursue journalism — and what led her to pivot into engineering?
 08:10 – How her journalism background unexpectedly opened doors in extreme sports.
 09:14 – Her passion for acting and how her views on the industry evolved.
 10:43 – How her acting experiences strengthened her confidence in a STEM environment.
 12:47 – The profound influence of her parents — especially her mother — on her path.
 14:55 – Navigating university life as a woman in engineering and repeatedly proving herself.
 16:51 – Are there professions in Brazil where women struggle to fully realize their potential?
 18:14 – Transitioning from journalism to engineering and the mentor from Purdue University who helped guide her.
 22:11 – Piecing together her international journey across Brazil, Canada, the Netherlands, and the United States.
 24:27 – Traditions she has embraced along the way — including experiencing a White Christmas.
 26:31 – Cherished family memories and the values that keep her grounded.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:21

Hello, hi, how are you? Welcome to International Student Stories. I am your host, Simon Hamlin. I can't wait for you to meet our guest this episode, Juliana Pereira. But before we do that, I want to ask for your help. We want as many people as possible to hear these important and inspirational stories. There are a couple of ways you can help. You can subscribe and follow us. That way you're notified whenever we release new episodes. You can rate us. We love five-star ratings. You can share the podcast with others by clicking on share. And if you're feeling extra motivated, write us a review. Go ahead and pause this episode right now so you can take action. Thank you for your help. Today we are joined by Juliana Pereira from Brazil. You're not going to find many people with Juliana's background. She got a journalism degree in Brazil, but then completely switched gears and came to the U.S. to get her master's in civil engineering from Purdue University. Juliana is now earning her PhD in geotechnical engineering from Purdue. Engineering in the STEM fields in general are extremely underrepresented for women. And thanks to her journalism and performance experience, Juliana is an ideal ambassador and advocate for women in engineering. Her story is so compelling that we couldn't fit it all into just one episode. Be sure to check out part two in a few weeks, where we'll learn more about Juliana's passion for engineering, why her work is so important, some of the challenges she's overcome, and how she's helping others reach their dreams in engineering and life. This is part one of Juliana Pereira's International Student Story. Hello, Juliana.

SPEAKER_01 2:12

Hello, it's a pleasure to be here.

SPEAKER_00 2:14

It's a pleasure to have you. I've been really excited about this one because we're kind of embarking on some new territories for the podcast. We haven't gone into a lot of talk in the STEM field yet, and in particular civil engineering. And you're quite the unicorn when it comes to this because uh a female in the STEM field in civil engineering, not the most common thing. And I know it's something you're really passionate about. So we're really excited to talk with you more about that.

SPEAKER_01 2:46

Yes, yes. I would say I have numbers to prove that unfortunately females are not the majority on the STEM fields, but we are working towards change that reality.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

Well, that's good. And that's I know you're a big advocate for it, and that's gonna be a big part of our conversation as well on just how to change that trend. But before we get there, where I want to start, I'm really looking at this as like two parts. We're gonna break this into two episodes because we have so much great stuff to talk about. I want to start with your pre-US, pre-civil engineering. You grew up in Florianopolis, Brazil, not in a particularly affluent family with a lot of money. You really had to work hard to get where you are. And during that time, you were on a very different track in terms of your studies. But you studied, you mentioned that you've studied in five different countries, is that right? And is that including the US?

SPEAKER_01 3:47

Yes, I lived in five different countries, and it was a pleasure to be able to do that. But I did that when I was already in my civil engineering track. Before that, I was studying journalism, but I was in Brazil and was the state major, the civil engineering major that opened the opportunities for me to study in different countries. I'm happy to have that opportunity, thanks to engineering.

SPEAKER_00 4:13

Okay, great. So you mentioned you started in journalism, very different from civil engineering, I'd imagine. Talk to us about how you first got involved on that journalism track and where you studied and what that route was like for you.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

Well, that journalism track starts really early. I would say that it starts at six years old. I was doing TV commercials since I was a kid. I was always uh really, I would say, communicative kid. And someone found me in the mall and said, Hey, your kid, it's talkative. Don't you want to do some testing, maybe a TV commercial? And that's how I started. Since I was a kid, I was doing TV commercials. And then when the time arrived for making the decisions, actually, I start in college before finish high school. In Brazil, there is an exam that is called Vestibular. And if you pass this exam, you can start college. So what happened? I passed this exam a year before I finished college. So I started college with 16 years old. And then I was like, what am I supposed to do? I was like, well, I'm already working in this television thing because I was doing TV commercials. And then I was like, why am I not going for journalism? Because I'm already working on that area. And then it's like, okay, let's go for that route. So I chose journalism, and it was something that I like it, and I worked for many years. I work presenting a TV show about extreme sports. I was also a professional skydiver. I got the license on everything for that time of my life, and it was really fun. But what happened is when I graduated, they put a law in my country, it changed that you don't need to have a degree to work as a journalist anymore. So at that time, I was already working as a journalist. And then I was like, okay, now I have the degree, but the salary wouldn't change much because the laws say that I don't really need my degree anymore, because anyone, even with a high school degree, could be a journalist. And that was not really the highest of my career because I was like, oh gosh, now I have a degree that doesn't have much value much more, right? Even though that I know, like for all my friends who are journalists, and I know how hard they work, and it's extremely helpful to have the degree because you learn a lot, right? But I was like looking for something that I could have like a higher value with my job and a higher value with my my degree. And then, well, my family works in construction. Uh and then before that, I was like, no, I don't want to go in construction because I grew up in the construction, my mom is an architect. So at that time, I was like, what am I supposed to do with my life? Because my degree doesn't value anymore because you don't really need a degree. And then I was like, let me try to do this. And then I started doing some architectural draws for my mom just to help her out. And then my mom's like, okay, if you're gonna do those architectural draws, now you need to be able to sign your own draws. You need to have a degree to sign your own draws. And then it's like, what am I supposed to do? Mom, well, I would suggest that you go for engineering because then you have a more broad range of work. You can work in small constructions like my mom and houses and stuff, but I can also work in dams and bridges and all those kind of things that an engineer can work. And then I like the idea because as an engineer, I could actually change things that was already, you know. I remember like the feeling of uh whenever my mom decorated a new house or improve an apartment, the families got super happy about it. And then it's like, if you can do that in big scale, like improve a city and how have a bridge or do something like bigger for more people, that would be awesome. So that's how I got it in engineering.

SPEAKER_00 7:57

Okay, so I love how you like we've gotten to how you got to engineering, but through that story, you just subtly threw in all these amazing things that I that I want to talk about. So you were a professional skydiver, yes.

SPEAKER_01 8:12

Okay, well, I had to because I was presenting a TV show about extreme sports.

SPEAKER_00 8:18

Ah, so that's how it came about. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 8:20

And that's how it came out because I was presenting the TV show about extreme sports, and then they want me to show all the jumps and everything. But as me, the presenter of the TV show, they didn't want me to have like a couch jumping with me because then I could jump by myself, and how I could jump by myself. I need to have a license to be a professional skydiver so I could jump by myself and not be just a jump with a professor. So I was never actually a really athlete girl, I would say, but I was never afraid of new challenges.

SPEAKER_00 8:52

Clearly, clearly. And then the other one, the other story that you subtly dropped in there that you were discovered for TV commercials and that eventually led to hosting an extreme sports show. How passionate were you on the acting side of things and being on camera and that world?

SPEAKER_01 9:15

I really love it. It's something that I'm still passionate about. However, the only thing that I didn't like much is the side of, oh, she's a pretty girl and that's why she's in front of the TV. Oh, she's a pretty girl, and that's why she's doing journalism. And it's like, I am a competent girl. I know what I'm doing, and I study hard for that. And that was the only side that I didn't like it much because even though that I was like presenting a TV show about extreme sports, and I was extremely good on my career, I studied well my degree in journalism, I got good grades, but people still doubted my competence and they assumed I was there because of my appearance. And that was the only thing that I never really liked it. For sure. I worked with TV commercials, I did pictures, and that helped me financially, that helped me in so many ways. But I was always a little bit bothered about the topic that people didn't believe on my competence because I know I am competent, but people believe that I was there because of my appearance.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

How do you think that helped you when it came to because I'd imagine you you ran into some of the same challenges when it came to engineering and that field? So, how did that experience in journalism, in acting, how did that really inform how you would approach and show your value and true worth and your hard work in a field like engineering as well?

SPEAKER_01 10:44

Well, I have a actually a funny story to say. When I came to study Steve Engineering, my first day in college, I was looking for my calculus one class. I still remember, and I was like in the front of the room, and then the professor was inside, like, hey professor, this is calculus one for steel engineering. It was like my first day. And the professor looked at me, probably he knew like I had outdoors with my face on the city, you know, from the TV show and those kind of things. And he looked at me and said, like, yes, here is calculus one for civil engineering, but design is in the other building. So I would say I had uh also the same professor, and it's like, oh professor, I'm going for civil engineers. So I I got inside the class and it was calculus one. So for sure, it was a talent because I was like four years without doing any calculations. As journalism, you don't do much of calculations, right? And then all the time that I raised my hand, the professor would say, Hey, hey, hey, Blondie, don't ask me any stupid questions. So I would say it was today, I can say I'm thankful to that professor because he made me tough and he made me study so hard that in the end of the semester I was the best grade. But it was a challenge. I would say nobody believed that I could be an engineer, not even me. But I would say that today that I'm doing a PhD at Purdue University in geotechnical engineering, I know that every time when I decide to do something, I do my all. So that's the type of personality that I am. Sometimes my family even say that I'm too perfectionist and that stress myself a little bit too much. But that's the type of personality that I am. If I'm gonna be doing something, I try to do my best.

SPEAKER_00 12:34

You mentioned your family, and earlier you mentioned your mom as an architect. Talk about their influence on you and the person that you are today, and how they have helped support you along this journey.

SPEAKER_01 12:48

I wouldn't be here without my mom. My mom is an extremely tough woman. My parents got divorced when I was really young. I had my grandma, she was in a wheelchair. My aunt never worked, my cousin was a kid, so it was my mom supporting all the family. So it was challenging, I would say. Like my mom always showed me the value of money, and my mom always showed me that you have to work hard to forget the things that you wanna. I cannot say that uh I had like, oh, I didn't have food on my plate. No, I never had this problem. Like my mom always worked extremely hard to provide me with the basics and to give me a good education. I think for her, she's like, you always gonna have, she always tried to put me in the best schools, like education was uh a must for her. And I remember that I always had to get like the degree in the end of the year, like as the best student. If I don't show up with that degree in the end of the semester or in the end of the school year, my mom would get mad with me. Uh so she was extremely like, you have to be a good student because that's gonna shape your future. You're not gonna inherit a fortune for me, but you're gonna inherit education because that's the only thing that I can provide for you. And I think that shaped me for who I am. And for sure, since I was a kid, I knew that my models' work, a journalist work, helped in the family too. I could uh make some money, and I was always because I saw my mom working from Monday to Monday all the time, right? So I knew that anything that could do would help my mom.

SPEAKER_00 14:25

You bring up how hard you have to work and how that was instilled by your mother. And I keep thinking to a field like engineering and any field that's really underrepresented, and in this case, underrepresented with women, and you hear that story of when that's the case, often you have to work that much harder to prove yourself and to show your value, even to get on an equal playing field, you have to be even better.

SPEAKER_01 14:55

It starts in college, you know. For example, when I raise a hand, I'm this stupid blonde who doesn't understand something, so I need to ask questions, right? If a boy raised a hand and asks questions, oh, he's being intrigued, you know. So the way people see it, it's a different way. Also, if something happened and accidentally you'll get another perfect grade, oh, this is because you're a girl and you're not supposed to be here. But if a boy got a not perfectly grade, it happens, right? So for you to be accepted in the field, you always need to be above the majority. So you always need to have the best grades just to be okay, yeah, she's an engineer. But I feel you don't have that pressure if you are a boy in this, like a man in the same field, right? So at least I'm I'm used to work hard. I never complain about that. I think as I'm again, thanks to my mom, I learned from that you gotta be brave and gotta do what you gotta do. And life is unfair sometimes, and that's how it is. So you just gotta work harder.

SPEAKER_00 15:59

Well, she sounds like a powerful role model.

SPEAKER_01 16:02

Yes, she is.

SPEAKER_00 16:03

Yeah. Well, and you talked about journalism and how you obviously gravitated away from that because you didn't need a degree for it, and so you were kind of capped at the level that you could earn at, and then you decided to go the engineering route. Now, is that true with other professions in Brazil as well, where there are certain professions that just don't demand a lot of education and that you really need to go abroad, whether it's the US or elsewhere, to fully realize your potential in that field? Or was journalism a unique one just in Brazil?

SPEAKER_01 16:52

Well, I feel, for example, at least here in the United States, now that I say I can talk a little bit with more knowledge because I've been living here for the past seven years. I feel here, if for example, if you do anything good, like if you if you do some crazy thing with your body and if you're really good, you can survive working in Circuit Soleil and have an amazing career. In Brazil, I feel because we are not really like well developed in all the areas, so it's basically sometimes you have like a short term of opportunities. So the traditional careers have better opportunities. Here I feel if you sing well, you can have an amazing career. Back in Brazil, you have more challenges to face. If you want to go for a career that is not a traditional doctor, engineer, or lawyer. So I thought if I want to go for a traditional career as an engineer, I would have better opportunities financially and life and all those kind of things.

SPEAKER_00 17:49

All right. So you've decided to come to the US. You decided that you want to pursue engineering. Talk us through the process that you went through to even navigate what that world looks like. You know, what school do I go to? What kind of engineering do I need to study? How do I pay for this? Talk us through that process.

SPEAKER_01 18:15

Well, since I decided to go for a second college, I was like, okay, it's time to look for scholarships because my first college, I was actually helped pay by my job as working as a journalist on the TV show. So I didn't worry about that. And then for the second one, as coming back, I always got scholarships for that. And then luckily, as I met that professor who challenged me, I also met a really nice professor who helped me a lot. Her name is also she's also a strong woman and a strong role model. Her name is Regina Davison Giaz.

SPEAKER_00 18:49

Could you say that name again?

SPEAKER_01 18:50

Regina Davison Giaz. Nowadays she's already retired, but she's an amazing professor in geotechnical engineering who did uh a postdoc here in the United States. And when she heard from classes and professors that a journalist was studying civil engineering, she's like, I need that girl to help me to write the articles because you know, engineers are not really well known for writing abilities, as we're better with numbers. And because I am a journalist and studying civil engineers, like, oh, maybe that girl can help me writing articles. And that's how I ended up on my first research project. She offered me a position to work for her inside the university, writing articles for her research. And it's like, okay, you're already writing articles. Why don't you go in the lab and see what we're doing so you can write better? And I was like, well, that's a good idea, because then I understand better the research that I'm writing for her, right? And that's how I ended up starting doing research. And then I went to the lab and started to watch and then I started to question like why those things are that way. And then they start to teach me and explaining, and I'm going higher up also in my college degree in engineering and start to learn more things. And then I start to be totally involved in that research project that was related to lens lives. And in my city back home in Brazil, we have a lot of issues with lens lives. And I got really attracted because we actually could help and save a lot of lives if we tell people, hey, be careful, this region is probably going to have a lens lives on the next ring because the soil profile is not looking good. And that's how I started in geotechnical engineering. And then I was already involved in research. And then the Brazilian government offered some scholarships to study abroad. So my first scholarship to study abroad was to the Netherlands. But I'll go around the world before that. I went to Canada just to improve my English because I need to write articles for that professor in English. And my English was not that good, I would say. So I went to Canada for six months just to study English, just to have my English top-notch to be able to come back and write everything in English and be fluently be fluent. Well, I'm still not, as you can see.

SPEAKER_00 21:09

You are you are great.

SPEAKER_01 21:11

I still I still commit my mistakes, but uh I learned that sometimes you gotta let it go.

SPEAKER_00 21:18

I'm still learning to speak English too, so don't worry.

SPEAKER_01 21:23

So that was my experience. So that professor told me, why don't you apply for that scholarship? I can give you recommendation letters, you're doing a good job in the research, you already have some research experience. So I apply and I was happily, but well, I'm just cutting a couple of things here and there, but just to for everybody to know, it's nothing simple, oh, she applied to one scholarship, and then she was happily got this scholarship. No, you apply for a lot, you apply multiple times, you learn with your mistakes. So that's not like an easy fine line, just to it's important to because whenever. You were already like after a couple of years and things start to going well in your life. People think that you just clip your hands and everything appears, but it was not like that.

SPEAKER_00 22:11

Alright, so you're in Canada, you went to the Netherlands, Canada for English, Netherlands, uh for engineering. For engineering, and there were two other countries before the US, right? Or one other?

SPEAKER_01 22:24

One other. Well, I if you count Brazil, I was in Brazil, then I went to Canada for English, then I got a scholarship to do my final thesis in engineering in the Netherlands. While I was in the Netherlands, I went for a project in Spain. So I was in the communication team again because of my Spanish. Uh so uh I went for a special project in uh river base in Spain. Then I went back to Brazil, got my degree in engineering, and then when I was like already graduated as a civic engineer, that same professor mentioned, like, well, you already so much involved in research. Why don't you continue for a grad studies? And then again, I started searching for scholarships and I applied to another one. Remember, I applied to a bunch, you know, that was the one that was happily got it. But if I tell you the truth, my dream was always to live in England, and I applied to a bunch of scholarships to live there, but I never got anyone. So I went to Netherlands instead. That was the time that I was like, I want to go to Europe, and then I I applied to England, but then I got the scholarship to go to the Netherlands, and I learned a lot about that country, and I fell in love with it. So sometimes it's just like if they close the door, look for a window vice versa, right?

SPEAKER_00 23:41

And you might even be designing that window. Yes. So you're designing your own windows, which actually is kind of true because you you have like designed your life, you're not letting things just happen by chance. You are going out and finding ways to get to where you want to go. Now I'm curious along this journey, you obviously grew up in Brazil, all the traditions and great childhood memories. What were some of the traditions that you loved from Brazil? And when you got to go to Canada, when you got to go to the Netherlands, Spain, US, what were some new ones that that have really resonated with you and that you enjoyed culturally?

SPEAKER_01 24:28

Yes, well, I really like in Canada, like I think this is kind of similar here in the United States, is the Halloween. It's one off holiday that we don't have that huge tradition in Brazil. And I love it. I would say that it's kind of similar to Carnival because everybody dressed in costumes, but here it's kind of a big deal, Halloween, and and I really like it. And everybody decorate their houses. So that is something that I really love it, that it's Halloween. And also another thing that I love it here in the United States and all cold countries, Canada, Netherlands, and even Spain, because you always watch in the movies is like the white Christmas with snow on the window. And in Brazil, Christmas is always hot, you know, like so. One of the traditions that I really love is the white Christmas, you know, that everybody's inside with a fireplace and and the snow outside. And I feel even sometimes, like even on my Christmas nowadays, when I look to the scenes like, wow, I'm inside a movie.

SPEAKER_00 25:33

Well, probably especially in Purdue, in Indiana, I'm sure you get your fair share of white Christmases and yes, yes.

SPEAKER_01 25:41

We have lots of snow over here, and and also this lifestyle that, for example, in Brazil, for sure, I'm from the south of Brazil, so we have a little bit of cold weather, but it's not as extreme as here in Indiana, for example. So another thing that I really love about here that I have the four stations on the year really well defined. So I have a crazy summer hot, I have the fall, I have the beautiful spring, and I have the winter. Something that in Brazil it's like you, it's almost summer all year, everything is green all the time, and I really like to see the changing colors on the leaves on the trees. I like to see the flowers on the spring. So all those changing stations that I wasn't used to that, and I love to live in that situation, you know, that you can see how earth works.

SPEAKER_00 26:29

What are the things that you miss from Brazil?

SPEAKER_01 26:32

Well, one of the things that I really miss from Brazil, that it was like the traditional Sundays, I would say, with the family, especially. I think I miss more the family, like for my mom used to say, even that she was always busy and working Monday to Monday, at least on Sunday at noon, we had that big meal where all the family come and sit together. So that one is one of the things that I miss to have like those Sunday lunch times with everybody around the table, and everybody sits and talks about their week and you know, get updates on everybody's lives. So that's something that I miss a lot. Another thing that it sounds silly, but I really miss because here on the opposite, it's like uh happy new years, it's cold, and it's kind of boring because everybody's inside, or you have to be in a private party. But in Brazil, New Year's Eve, it's amazing. Everybody's on the beach and it's hot and have fireworks, and we have a tradition of jumping seven waves when it's like changing one year to the next for good luck. So I really miss to be on the beach to watch the fireworks in the hot weather on the New Year's Eve. So I would say that my perfect holiday would be winter and Christmas here in the United States and New Year's Eve back home in Brazil jumping the waves.

SPEAKER_00 28:02

Thank you again for listening to International Student Stories. And thank you to our team for putting together this episode. Stories are meant to be shared, so please pass the story on to a friend or family member who needs to hear a good story. A few other quick notes. I invite you to check out the show notes if you want more details on some of the topics discussed in this episode. For all the latest podcast news, stop by our website, studyintheusaglobal.com forward slash podcast. That's S T-U-D-Y in the USA Global.com forward slash podcast. Subscribe to the International Student Stories Podcast to be alerted on new episodes. And contact us if you know of a current or former international student whose story needs to be shared with the world. Goodbye for now, be well, and much love to each and every one of you.