We’re highlighting women whose work is inspired by this year’s theme for Women’s History Month: “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.”
It’s hard to find someone who represents the Schoolcraft College experience better than Maria Gosur.
A User Experience (UX) Engineer in the Marketing Department, Gosur is the brains behind one of the most important tools of the College’s communication: its website. Updates to dozens of department pages and the creation of new ones for new initiatives all go through her.
As a woman working in the technology arena, Gosur said she sees the challenge of being in a male-dominated field as a way to better herself and her skills.
“I have seen and experienced challenges being a female in the coding and tech field, in addition to within business and entrepreneurship spaces; however, it is improving and hasn’t deterred me from going after my goals,” she said. “Exposure to obstacles faced combined with kind education and thoughtful discussions help steer positive change to take place. Despite notable achievements, it’s important to keep striving for continual betterment.”
Gosur has spent plenty of her career at Schoolcraft College: after earning her Associate of Applied Science Degree in Web Design, she went on to earn her Bachelor’s Degree from Baker College and her Master’s Degree from the University of Michigan. She’s taught classes here at the College, as well as working as a web developer and UX engineer, since 2009.
When she’s not updating the College’s website, Gosur keeps busy running two businesses out of Ann Arbor: One providing design, development and marketing for clients, and the other being an entrepreneurial startup that helps aspiring creatives grow their knowledge, confidence and output in creative work.
Her creativity also reaches beyond screens and onto paper. She’s also a published author, writing and illustrating “What I’ve Learned in Therapy A to Z,” a book celebrating the personal journey many take with therapy in hopes of breaking the negative connotations of therapy.
“People go into therapy for different reasons, and there are many types. It’s easy to stereotype therapy, but I think it’s quite an admirable journey,” Gosur said. “A person is deciding to dive into hard, messy inner work to get through difficult challenges, make pivotal decisions and thrive to be a better person and live a more fulfilling life. That’s a pretty cool thing that deserves no judgement.”
When it comes to advocating for equity, diversity and inclusion, Gosur said she admires the women who came before her, helping to blaze a path for people like her. She hopes her work in tech serves as a reminder for those who come after.
“This year’s theme makes one word come to mind: resilience. What I admire most about women who have paved the path for a better future for other women is their continuous grit to keep pressing forward, to never give up,” Gosur said. “This month is a celebration of progress made from women of the past, present and continued efforts into the future.”