Clinton Township native makes Forbes' 30 Under 30 list
(CBS DETROIT) - A Clinton Township native finds her name on a prestigious list of young professionals.
"You can do anything you set your mind to if you roll up your sleeves and do the work to back it up," says Forbes' 30 under 30's newest member, Kelly Henckel. It's a piece of advice she would have given herself back during her days at Chippewa Valley High School.
Henckel is named to the Forbes list for her work as a lead project manager for Mojang Studios. Mojang is best known as the studio that created the popular video game Minecraft.
Henckel recalled her days in high school playing Minecraft with friends and staying up late to do so all while unknowingly starting a passion for engineering.
"Having that little community kind of helped me to realize that it was totally okay to be a little nerdy or a little geekier, not to always fit in with everybody else. And that was kind of the encouragement that I needed to pursue engineering as a career path," Henckel says.
Looking back at those high school days, Henckel also credits her support system who helped push her towards her goals.
"Bubbly, happy, just really excited to learn it really didn't matter what you put in front her," Rebecca Mattia, a mentor of Henckel, said in an interview with CBS News Detroit.
Rebecca Mattia, a biology and science teacher at Chippewa Valley High School, says she beamed with pride for Henckel's accomplishments when she shared the news to her current students.
Their relationship spans Henckel's entire career, including a sendoff from a 2012 recommendation letter, which ultimately helped Henckel's admission to the University of Michigan, where she studied computer science.
"To see her now in a tech field, again, aeronautical engineering, not a generally female-dominated area. To break that glass ceiling to really be acknowledged for her work, that is unique and creative. You know it's just amazing," says Mattia.
"It was really important for me at that age to have mentors like Rebecca Mattia, who encouraged me to step outside my comfort zone and see the strengths that I do have and realize that that just through like a little bit of hard work and studying, you know, anyone can, can really accomplish anything," says Henckel.
