From casting to podcasting, Kimberly is all about giving back and helping people get ahead

It’s no secret women are underrepresented in STEM roles and careers, Hispanic women even more so. Thankfully, Kimberly Martinez Sequeda and Cummins are doing their part to change that.

Kimberly currently serves as a supplier quality engineer, working with suppliers to ensure they are providing good quality products to our lines. 

“My commodity, or what I focus on, are castings. Basically, flywheels and turbochargers for the company. There's not a lot of women in castings, so whenever I would go visit a supplier, I was usually the only woman sitting at the table. And they would say, ‘Where's the engineer?’ and I'm like, ‘I am the engineer’. That’s how I got my idea for my podcast, The Only Woman at the Table.”

Broadcast in both Spanish and English, Kimberly’s podcast is billed as a safe space for women to discuss relevant topics in areas where women are a minority.

Past titles include Challenges women may face in their engineering career, Assertiveness, Building your resume, Interviews, and the Importance of relationships.

According to Kimberly helping, championing, and seeing women get ahead in STEM is a passion she is proud to share with her employer.

Cummins does a great job in bringing in women, empowering them, making them feel welcome, and making sure they have a lot of resources to succeed.

In fact, it was this commitment to women and diversity that led Kimberly to choose Cummins over two other companies that she also did internships with. “I was so impressed with the diverse workforce that they had including women in technical roles, and how much they care about bringing people from different backgrounds together and working with them. I remember walking into the breakroom very early on and there would be people speaking five different languages.”

It wasn’t just Cummins’ commitment to diversity that Kimberly enjoyed as an intern, she also appreciated the commitment they showed to her personally and professionally.

“They gave me meaningful work to do. It was not, ‘Oh yeah, we don't like this kind of work. Let's give it to the intern.’ It was real-world projects that impact the company. And I just fell in love with that and the company. I wanted to work in a place where that even though I'm someone new, they believe in me, and they give me work that is not only going to provide value to my curricular activity but also is going to make me feel like, ‘Okay, I did something important today’.”

Kimberly is happy to report that her commitment to her and career is still very much alive and well today, three years later.

I have a lot of really good mentors – women engineers, who are able to guide me, while at the same time, I have a lot of autonomy and freedom to chart my own course and follow my interests.

One of those interests is continuing her connection and association with the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SPHE) that she began back in college at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

“Volunteering at SHPE Conference as a Cummins representative the last two years has been a great experience because I remember going as a college student, all scared with your resume, just trying to find ways to talk with the companies. I know, it's really hard. So now being on the other side, I just want to make the students feel safe and feel like they can talk with you with no prejudgments and just listen to them because one time, I was in their shoes.

So being part of SHPE has been really cool. It feels good to give back and just listen and mentor students and say, ‘Hey, you may not be a good fit for the company right now, but you could do this and that, and that will help you be a potential candidate in the future.’ And then seeing those same kids, taking my advice, and coming back one or two years later with a built-up resume and better communication skills, and then saying, ‘Hey, you have improved, you could be a good fit for the company.’ That's an amazing feeling.”

Kimberly says she will be proud to continue her career with a company that not only cares about its employees but also cares about the future of the planet as well. “We are very involved in the environment and giving back to the community. We’re not just asking how can we advance our business, but how can we advance our business in ways that benefit and impact the world for the better.”

Interested in a career with Cummins? Check out our careers section.

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