
“Everyday,” Abigail Franco asserted when asked if she had ever doubted herself because of societal constructs. Being a women in STEM has caused Franco to face her fair share of hurdles. However, her driven mindset coupled with her natural talents have led her to her current position as the Senior Director of the Digital Innovation Center & Academy at T-Mobile. Coming from humble beginnings from a family of seven in El-Salvador, Franco learned the value of education and the doors the acquisition of knowledge opens after receiving the opportunity to study in the United States at the age of 10. After seeing the endless possibilities one can achieve simply with a computer, Franco fell in love with the technological field. Today, Franco and her team at T-Mobile are working to accelerate innovation and answer the question of how to build better goods and services for a diverse set of customers through T-Mobile. Throughout her career, Franco has learned the value of educating oneself about other people, particularly those who do not like you, in order to learn to value the differences of others. Hence, her advice to aspiring youth leaders is to “be curious, listen, learn from others, and be open to people who you may not agree with.” To learn more about Abigail Franco and her journey, watch the interview above.