Jill Campbell was looking through all the different avatar options before her on the computer screen. Did she want to be a unicorn? A five-headed sloth? A fairy, a joker, or even a robot with carrots for teeth? How did she want to show up in this virtual world and where did she want to go?

Jill loved that she could try out all these different versions of herself and go exploring. On this day, she picked out a human form with a striped shirt, jeans, and big bright glasses. She launched herself into a new virtual landscape full of rivers, mountains, and wooded trails. She charged forward until she came to a fork in her path.

Jill had to smile. Of course, she thought. There are so many ways I could go. 

The question was, which path would she try first and where would it lead her?

I’m Christine Pollnow. And this is Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls.

A fairy tale podcast about the real-life rebel women who inspire us. In this mini series, we’re diving into stories of women who are shaping the ever-changing landscape of technology.

On this episode, JILL CAMPBELL, designer, product manager, artist, and engineer, who is leading the internet into its next frontier.

Jill grew up in Boston, Massachusetts with a family she admired and adored. She especially looked up to her mom, her dad, and her Aunt Liz, who was a professional artist. Jill felt certain that she was going to become an artist too. Or a designer. Or a lawyer, judge, or chemical engineer. Okay, maybe she wasn’t so certain about her path at all.

Jill was fascinated by so many different paths. Her mom told her she could do anything with perseverance. The most important thing was to stay curious and open. Jill spent many nights doing homework at her kitchen table with her mom by her side, encouraging her to read, to try new classes, to expand her mind. She loved trying new things, even if they were way outside her comfort zone. Whenever an assignment felt too scary or challenging, Jill’s mom said, “Remember, one minute is better than zero minutes. All you have to do is find one minute in your day to try this new thing, and see how it feels.”

So Jill tried it!She wanted to run track, so she ran for one minute, and the next day two, and the next day three…

She wanted to learn about chemical engineering, so she opened her chemistry text book for one minute, and then another…

These small but meaningful steps made everything feel so much more doable to Jill.

And when she went off to college, Jill was sure that she could use her one-minute method to follow her dreams, no matter how many detours and directions she took.

A funny thing happened when Jill stepped into her first chemical engineering class at college. She really didn’t like it. She was the only girl and she felt like she didn’t belong — not after one minute. Not after one hundred minutes. She was still intrigued by chemistry, but there were so many other subjects that called to her. She told her mom that she might want to give something else a try.

Explore them all! urged her mom. There are so many ways to be you.

Jill was still in awe of her Aunt Liz’s art and the way each painting or piece of sculpture she made could mean something different to people viewing it. So, Jill started digging into art history, which is the study of art’s meaning and how each brushstroke or shape can tell a story.

Next, Jill wanted to connect her love of art and her love of engineering. She wanted to see how art affected technology, how technology affected art, and how the internet opened up new ways to communicate all of this around the world in the blink of an eye. It felt like a big challenge, but she got right to work, one minute at a time.

But one thing was really missing for Jill — being close to her family, which was still on the East Coast. All of Jill’s work required her to be in Washington. She missed sitting at the kitchen table with her mom or chatting about business with her dad. That’s when Jill got interested in  virtual reality, and all its possibilities.

What if we could build a digital world that transcended place and time? Jill wondered. What if I could put on a headset and not just talk to my mom but interact with her in the kitchen from thousands of miles away?

This is the dream that led Jill to work at Meta, a company that builds technologies to help people connect. Jill got to design avatars so that people who were using these virtual worlds, also known as the metaverse, could present themselves the way they wanted to be seen.

Which brings us back to those questions Jill asks herself every day…

How do you want to show up in this world? Who do you want to become and where do you want to go?

After all, anything is possible…

Jill likes to see how people can use their many interests to foster creativity and connection. Whether you like gaming, messaging, building or listening to podcasts about extraordinary women, creativity and technology can bring us together and help us support each other.

As Jill says, “There are so many ways to create the world we want to create together. Pick what’s important to you and find your path into it for yourself.”

This podcast is a production of Rebel Girls. It’s based on the book series Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls.

This episode was narrated by ME, Christine Pollnow. It was produced and directed by Haley Dapkus, with sound design and mixing by Mumble Media.

The story was written by Abby Sher and edited by Haley Dapkus. Our executive producers were Joy Smith and Jes Wolfe.

Original theme music was composed and performed by Elettra Bargiacchi.

A special thanks to the whole Rebel Girls team, who make this podcast possible! Until next time, staaaay rebel!

ALT: A special thanks to Betsy DeHont, Meta, and the whole Rebel Girls team, who made this episode possible! Until next time, staaaay rebel!