LAFAYETTE PARISH — For Betzabe Salomon, a passion for technology started long before she ever entered a science competition.
"Since I was so little I've always liked to hang out with my dad and then he always taught me about systems,about how to connect wires, everything," Salomon said.
Her father, an electrical engineer, introduced her to the world of engineering at a young age. By 13 years old, Salomon was attending college classes with him to learn about solar energy, often finding herself surrounded by students decades older than she was.
"’What is the little girl doing here?’ And I was the youngest one because everyone was like 30 and older," Salomon said.
Those experiences helped shape the skills she would later use to design and code a smart doghouse capable of raising and lowering itself while featuring a built-in feeding system.
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The invention won multiple science fairs and ultimately earned Salomon a spot as a finalist at the International Science and Engineering Fair, one of the world's largest pre-college STEM competitions.
"It was really hard but I mean I did it! Whenever I get an interest on something I want to figure more out of it," Salomon said.
Salomon's journey extends beyond engineering. Two years ago, she immigrated to the United States from Mexico, where she faced the challenge of learning a new language while adapting to a new environment. She said those experiences have helped her grow personally and opened doors she never expected.
"My head was a mess like everything and now with everything I have done I have opened new opportunities, new people I have met, and a lot of lovely opportunities I have," Salomon said.
Now, Salomon hopes to use her own experiences to encourage other young people to explore careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. She wants to create opportunities for students who may not have the same support she had growing up, believing encouragement can make a lasting difference.
"Now that I'm older I want to have that feeling that I'm able to help other people because I didn't have that much on me so I want to help a lot now," Salomon said.
Salomon said anyone interested in supporting her mission to create more opportunities for young people in technology, or anyone interested in connecting with her about STEM education and innovation, can reach her by email at smart_doghouse@outlook.com.
