At the same time, Lauren had promised her family that she would study law, because it was what they called “practical.” When Lauren went to her guidance counselor at the university to tell her about getting into the design program, the counselor said, “Listen, there are people in the world who have analytical brains and there are people who have creative brains and you can’t have both.” She wanted Lauren to choose between law and design and stick to a plan.

But Lauren felt like this was ridiculous. Couldn’t she feel passionate about two things at once? So what if there wasn’t a clear plan for how to move forward? Lauren left the counselor’s office both confused and determined. She was ready to follow her heart wherever it led her to next.

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, Lauren Cascio, a leading innovator in product design and technology.

One of those people was her grandmother, who saw how much Lauren was drawn to creating and designing things. So, when Lauren was eight years old, her grandma got her a week at art camp, where she got to take as many photographs as she wanted, playing with light and shadow, composition and symmetry. Lauren still thinks of it as the best week of her life. She spent time drawing, painting, and taking pictures. Making things allowed her to unleash her imagination.

This, she thought, is what I was meant to do.

Lauren studied a lot in school, and she wanted to go to college for something creative, but the adults in her life convinced her to focus on something more analytical, like law. Still, she found a way to take a design class as a fun extracurricular. Lauren loved it immediately. She walked through the bright quad of the university with a spring in her step and new ideas bubbling up inside her. Out of hundreds of students studying design, Lauren was soon chosen as one of the few who would go on to study it as a specialized major in design.

That’s when she had that meeting with the guidance counselor who told her it was impossible to be creative and analytical at the same time.

“Oh yeah? Just watch me!” Lauren thought as she made her way back across campus. Nothing was more exciting than making the impossible, possible.

She still had no idea that her design and analytical skills could propel her to do all sorts of things, like creating apps that make holograms or building a ramp for somebody with disabilities. She had no idea that she could do work that was experimental and meaningful all at once.

But she was about to find out.

Lauren was also on a team that made a computer you could wear on your face! It allowed you to put holograms in your kitchen, or bedroom, or anywhere you wanted. It was very advanced and there was nothing like it out in the world.

Lauren had to combine her analytical mind with her drive to design. Still, many of these attempts didn’t work out. As Lauren says, “We failed a lot, but we learned so much from it…It’s like, okay, this didn’t work out. Why? What can we learn? What are we carrying forward?”

Lauren adores New York City  – the energy and inventiveness inspires her. Just as she did when she walked across her university campus, she still gets a jolt of possibility as she maneuvers through busy sidewalks and takes in the all the various faces of all the people around her.

At Meta, Lauren builds teams to try out what she calls “the technology of tomorrow.” After all, technology is still changing at lightning speed. She tests out new ways of using technology to help people feel closer together, even when they’re physically apart. Imagine if someday, you could just teleport to have a conversation with someone instead of calling or messaging. Lauren hopes to design that, too!

She continues to be in awe of the way a picture can tell a thousand different stories. In fact, probably her favorite thing she’s designed is a book of pictures she gave for her mom’s 60th birthday. Each photograph captures a place, a time, and a feeling that is so important to Lauren.

This too is the gift of design — evoking the past, celebrating the present, and sharing with the future.

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, Gina Scarpa. 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!