However, Takahashi’s career came full circle in 2023, when she was invited to manage the student workers on her team — a role she once held herself. The following year, she would go on to manage the Fulton Accelerated Community Engagement (FACE) Program for her team.
“It’s been incredible to give these students the same opportunity I had,” Takahashi shared. “Mentoring gives students the opportunity to try new things, make mistakes and have a growth mindset that helps them to find their own interests.”
Today, Takahashi oversees a team of three student workers who are connected to the FACE program. These student worker positions provide a unique opportunity to explore different aspects of the technology department – from quality assurance, orchestration to application support, all within the engineering department.
“We help students apply their classroom knowledge into real-world working environments that allow them to align career goals while still in school,” shared Takahashi, reflecting on her own experience as well.
One student worker is Ruby Ledezma Perez, a third-year student at Fulton Schools who is pursuing a degree in software engineering.
Ledezma Perez is in her second year working alongside Takahashi and the engineering team. She shared that the job has exposed her to industry tools and standards – and has even earned a certificate as an AWS Cloud Practitioner.
She notes one of the greatest benefits is the “teaching onsite” with new tools and exposure to the inner-workings of an engineering team. “We meet with [Takahashi] weekly and are able to run through different practice problems,” Ledezma Perez shared. “She also is our go to person to understand the work environment – things like understanding the role of product manager, for example.”
Both Ledezma Perez and Takahashi’s story demonstrates the power of mentorship — and the lifelong learner journey that ASU champions, from students to staff.
And for Takahashi, her education journey is far from over as she is part of a cohort from ASU Enterprise Technology that is currently pursuing a Master’s in Information System Management at the university. She is also pursuing professional development opportunities and is currently part of the university’s Emerging Supervisors Pathway Program.
