Siemens' Mia Fujii Shares 3 Tips for Success

If you remember people’s names, you’ll go far. That was one of three tips that Mia Fujii of Siemens shared with incoming students in the CSULB Beach Engineering Student Success Team (BESST) to help them connect with more people. And she said it’s not only important to remember people’s names, but also know what they like to be called and how to spell their names.

Director of license compliance at Siemens Digital Industries and a member of the CSULB College of Engineering’s 100+ Women Strong Steering Committee, Fujii was one of six industry speakers that BESST students got to hear from during the Engineering Summer Academy.

“Engineering is a cool field to be in, and the reason why is it touches all kinds of industries,” said Fujii. “Your engineering degree gives you unlimited potential for the future. The future depends on innovation. Where does innovation come from? It starts with engineering.”

Author of the book “Ladies…Make It Your Time Now,” Fujii advised the new BESST students to: Learn How to Connect, Build a Support Network, and Take Action.

“The people who move on in life are the ones who take action,” she said.

Fujii has been responsible for sales, sales management, business development, services, new hire training programs, license compliance and academic programs throughout her 25-year career at Siemens.

Saba Yohannes-Reda, CSULB College of Engineering Director of Outreach, presents speaker Mia Fujii with a BESST t-shirt.
She is the recipient of Siemens Inner Circle, Golden Eagle, CEO, and Diversity Council awards, and received a Technology Star from the Women of Color organization. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from University of California, Irvine. Before joining Siemens, she held technical positions in support of electrical engineering software applications used to design electrical systems.

The BESST program lets freshmen register as part of a cohort. BESST students can see fellow students and teachers almost every day, and receive tutoring to help keep up grades in difficult classes such as Calculus.

The program’s mission is to help students succeed by supporting them academically, developmentally, and socially. The goal is to increase the success rate of all College of Engineering students, specifically those from diverse backgrounds and with greatest need whose math preparation is not at the Calculus I level.