Shu-ling Garver: From the Streets of China to the American Dream

Few of us embody the American Dream like Shu-ling Garver, who works as both a franchisee for Engineering for Kids in Portland, Ore. and works in Global Ecosystem Development for Intel. I was able to connect with Shu-ling to find out more about her remarkable story of hardship and personal perseverance, including a journey from the streets of China to the U.S. Can you tell me about your background and how you came to work at Intel? [caption id="attachment_9626" align="alignright" width="205" caption="Shu-ling Garver, Engineering for Kids"][/caption] I grew up very poor because of my dad's political position in the red communist China under Chairman Mao's regime. At one point, I was homeless. Something I will never forget. My dad taught me English when I was 9 years old, despite the fact no one was studying the language at the time. After Mao died, China opened up and I received a B.A. in English literature and an associate degree in computer software. In the ‘80s, I had the opportunity to become a locally, well-known figure helping international businesses to become established in China through my English language and computing skills. Through my work I came to know a very kindhearted American businesswoman who was impressed with my work and aspirations. She paid for me to go to college in the U.S. in 1986. I arrived that year with $60 in my pocket. Scared, but determined. Right after I graduated with a B.S. in computer science, I was recruited to work for Intel and have been working full-time at Intel since. How does your background motivate you to really make a difference through your work? When I was a kid, I was labeled a political enemy because of my father. I had nothing, so I put all my energy into learning, and it has become a habit for me to work very hard at all times. Working and learning excites me. I have done very well at Intel over the years. However, today, my goal is to help young engineers, especially girls, to make the right choice in their career through mentoring. I show them how I have fumbled and tumbled through my situation but came out on top. I totally believe in America and that everything is possible as long as you put in an effort with the right mind set. Why is it so important to get young girls and other women involved in engineering? Business? I work for Intel. Just like the engineering industry as a whole, we are way short of women in the field. I believe men and women are equally intelligent but sometimes we can solve a problem with different approaches. We need this kind of diversity. This applies to business too. I find many young women think engineering is very geeky, boring and moreover, that they are not capable of doing it. This makes me sad. I've had a lot of fun being an engineer at Intel for 24 years, and there is a lot of excitement in the field. We also have many capable women who made it to be principle engineers and Intel Fellows, but still far too few. If you could give one major piece of advice to other female entrepreneurs or engineers, what would it be? I find that girls can be shy to speak up at times. My one advice is to stand out and challenge the status quo. Be good in your field and let everyone know. Through Intel, I am part of a program called WIN (Women at Intel Network). We have global WIN conferences, as well as local chapters. During my time as a Technical Adviser to Intel's enterprise CTO (Chief Technology Officer), I was a mentor at the conference. I got to know a lot of female engineers, giving them guidance through their careers. It has been fun and I encourage all women to follow their passions and dreams.