Abby invents
Engineer by day and children's book author by night. Dr. Arlyne Simon is the author of the new children's book titled Abby Invents. Abby Invents was written to encourage children and awaken the engineer within.
Meet dr. arlyne simone
Author of Abby Invents
The journey
The inception of Abby Invents began before Arlyne simon became Dr. Arlyne Simon. In undergrad she thought of the idea, but didn't quit develop it at the time. It wasn't until Dr. Simon found herself bored at her very first engineering position. "I was bored and struggled with deciding what to do next with my career. I felt like there was a lot of creativity within me that needed to be unleashed." Dr. Simon was able to unleash her creativity, and from this moment the story grew into what is now known as Abby Invents! The road hasn't been easy, Dr. Simon describes how she's learned so much through the process of writing this book. She was fortunate enough to test out her book prior to release on students from her hometown located in Dominica. It was during this time that she received very useful feedback from some very young inventors. "The message she wants kids to take from Abby Invents is that if Abby can do it, they can do it to." It is important for children to keep being curious and keep asking why.
"I was bored and struggled with deciding what to do next with my career. I felt like there was a lot of creativity within me that needed to be unleashed."
Representation
"I honestly didn't realize how much representation mattered to me". Dr. Simon described an instance in grad school where she was the only black and female student among 20 peers. She thinks that having other people around that look like you at work, school or other places can help a great deal. "I am able to enjoy my work a lot better when there is a support system I can lean on." Writing Abby Invents is a great way to improve representation in the black community. This is one of the many reasons Dr. Simon wrote the book. Her hope is that all kids no matter their culture or race will read this book.
You can purchase Abby Invents on Amazon where hard and soft copies are available. Don't miss out on an incredible opportunity to inspire the youth. You can also watch my full interview with Dr. Simon below.