Self-confidence is a prerequisite for women pursuing a career in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), said Dr. Cisse Spragins.

As founder and CEO of Rockwell Labs in Kansas City, which makes proprietary products for the pest control industry, Spragins appreciates how role models like her can bolster the confidence of young women pondering STEM careers.

“Whenever you go outside the norm, there’s a risk involved,” Spragins said. “So you have to feel comfortable taking that risk. And if people have a role model, they’re less likely to think, ‘Well, gee, I don’t feel comfortable here. I’ll do something that’s safer.’”

Growing up, Spragins had no such role model to support her interest in science, although her teachers in high school didn’t discourage her.

“Since I exhibited ability, they weren’t trying to talk me out of it,” she said. “Actually, from my family, I had less encouraging comments at times. There were things like, ‘Why don’t you take home economics?’ which I refused to do.”

Spragins founded Rockwell Labs in 1998, after working nearly 10 years for Bell Labs, a manufacturer of rodent control products, in Madison, Wis.

“If somebody has an interest in science, even if they want to be an entrepreneur, they’re much better off stressing the science and technology side in their formal education, rather than the business side,” she said. “In business, you learn by doing. Business classes are useful, but I’ve had one in my entire life.

“The much more useful business experience was working nine and a half years directly for an entrepreneur. It was a man, but I had that person as a mentor.”

Spragins’ best advice to females undertaking a STEM career track begins with establishing confidence.

“The first thing is to believe that you can do it,” she said. “A little more sage advice is to not have children early in your career, which is going to make things more difficult. And you have to put blinders on to what society may be feeding you. Really look at the positive aspects of what you want to do and what your abilities are. Otherwise, you’ll just fall into the current societal norms, which are changing, but they never change rapidly.”