EP #83: Vanessa Raquel Raponi - Engineer At Spin Master, Founder of EngiQueers Canada & Abuse Survivor

Vanessa Raquel Raponi (@vanessaraquelraponi) is a Senior Product Development Engineer at Spin Master (@spinmaster) and Founder of EngiQueers Canada (@engiqueerscanada).She joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss being a poor brown kid in a wealthy part of Toronto (Leaside), being queer, surviving childhood abuse, getting the opportunity to be the Willy Wonka of product development, her grandfather’s orphanage in Sri Lanka and the impact he had on her, and so much more.Follow Vanessa:- Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/vanessaraquelraponi/) Timestamps00:19 - Ara introduces this week’s guest, Vanessa Raquel Raponi01:12 - Being Tamil/Italian, growing up in Leaside, experiencing abuse, and becoming an engineer04:48 - Being silent about her struggles from the age of 9 until the age of 2006:08 - Growing up in Toronto, Tamil community not being emphasized much08:51 - Opening up to her family about what happened to her; how they reacted11:18 - Her grandfather, Paul; his story and the impact it had on Vanessa16:32 - Studying at McMaster, working for Spin Master, 20:22 - Difficulty managing volatility, the intense workload at Spin Master; thriving in chaos21:38 - Her day-to-day as a product developer; leading the sustainability committee23:49 - Why she started EngiQueers, how she picked the name, and pansexual vs. bisexual31:23 - How she funded for EnqiQueers and split responsibilities with the Co-Founder, Dao33:49 - The revolutionary impact of EngiQueers on the culture of engineering35:45 - Being queer in the Tamil community; coming out to her family38:00 - Where he confidence comes from; a survival tactic40:01 - Was there anything Vanessa thinks could’ve changed her willingness to speak up earlier; going to therapy in second year of University43:25 - Advice she would give her 16-year-old self45:36 - The personal legacy she wants to be remembered for46:28 - Creator Confessions48:30 - The Wrap UpIntro MusicProduced And Mixed By:- The Tamil Creator- YanchanWritten By:- Aravinthan Ehamparam- Yanchan Rajmohan   Support the show