Today we’d like to introduce you to Camille Camejo
Hi Camille, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Coming from a Trinidadian family with a Law Librarian as a mother, I was no stranger to the importance of family dance sessions and finishing all my homework. As a child, my mother would encourage the libraries I built in the sunroom, dance every chance she got, and made it her mission to review both my homework and the homework of my mentally challenged brother after she came home to Queens from working in Manhattan each weekday and on Sundays. Joanne would simultaneously teach us the same school and life lessons whether it was multiplication, dance moves, or how to share genuine love with those around us. Being enrolled in the same Special Education summer camps placed me in the position to see the world through a special lens and to always have fun, create, and work with minds not like my own. This is the root of why I intentionally embrace everyone’s mind intellectually and socially, creating spaces for all whose minds function in their own unique way.
Attending Howard University (’15) with an open heart and mind, I was equally submerged into a world of creatives and engineers, equally dedicated to my career as a Chemical Engineering student and Executive Coordinator of SpringFest, our homecoming for the Spring semester. I had the privilege of exercising both sides of myself and directly witnessing the interconnectivity and overflow of joy that exists across the Black Diaspora. Each unique creative problem-solver I met on the way effortlessly demonstrated the ability to define what community means to us has always been within. Community is truly anywhere we exist and collaboratively and creatively engineer new realities with others.
My journeys to each engineering degree have their own stories, but what the study of engineering did for me was enlighten me to how engineering outside of me translates to the engineering that exists within me. As a ChemE, I loved studying about energy, but the globally advocated applications of a Chemical Engineer’s skills did not resonate with me at the time. Once I discovered the inputs-processes-outpus-feedback System Diagram of Computer Science in 2016, I was captivated to explore the ways communication flow can be expressed and ultimately improved through the lens of energy and information flow within relationships. From a 2nd Bachelor’s in Computer Science at Florida Atlantic University (Hoot!), a Master’s in Software Engineering from the #1 Computer Science program in the US, Carnegie Mellon University, serving as Software Engineer for 5 years at Qualcomm, and pursuing Neuroscience and Engineering Education at Georgia Tech, I have found my passion to connect the world through resonation. My journey has revealed to me the power to collaborate with others, to learn and grow inside, will always lie within ourselves if we take enough time with self and have the right resources for the puzzle pieces to fit. Now, I serve as Founder/CEO and CTO of The Spectral Theory, a Software and Wellness Design Incubator for Global Innovators. As of Summer 2024, I’ve officially entered into the land of entrepreneurship and community engineering education, and all I want to do is share the joy creative engineering gives me with the world.
My current job titles are as follows:
Camille Camejo
Founder/CEO, CTO, The Spectral Theory
Technical Advisor, Book Blaster
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Mental health challenges were not easy to face and work through during the matriculation of my academic endeavors. From 2010 to 2022, depression, anxiety, and suicide were daily challenges I faced in silence most days. In the last 4 years, therapy has helped me find the paths of peace I can always return to when darkness seems to calmly creep up again. Attending 4 universities for 4 separate degrees in 6 separate cities was a beautiful experience; however, grounding myself in routine, a home, and a community was a challenging space to re-enter and redefine for myself each time. In 2019, I stepped away from academia to take care of myself and, although difficult, the realignment with my purpose was necessary. I’m beyond grateful for the overflowing support and light I received from family and friends through each challenging moment, even during the times when I wasn’t quite sure how to receive it all. Seeing the light in others led me to find the light inside myself and made me into the strong woman I am proud to be today, grounded and free.
One of the biggest challenges I’ve experienced thus far professionally has been aligning with others who do not see the value I see in myself and the spaces I create. Through love, I learned we all don’t communicate the same, especially in business, but underlying intentions of joy and abundance may exist in every encounter, if we decide to find the light. There were times when I had to choose my battles and protect my peace at all costs in academia and in life. Through entrepreneurship, I’ve learned to keep my eyes on the passion and the people we seek to serve when developing the spaces we’re creating. My biggest business lesson? At times, you will have to make the tough decisions required to prioritize your wellness over all else to successfully support the intellectual and social wellness of others. Peace is always possible and will always be worth the time it takes to figure it out.
Finding peace for yourself and others is ultimately the job of all educators and entrepreneurs. From first-hand experience and hearing the voices of creative engineers of color around the world, I have felt the unseen battles we all have faced as rewriters of the narrative. I know how tough unseen mental health challenges can be on the physical body and now it is my mission to support entrepreneurs with recalibrating their peace from a business, as well as, a personal standpoint, driving wellness from within first to create long-lasting, sustainable spaces for the future.
As you know, we’re big fans of The Spectral Theory. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
The Spectral Theory is a not-for-profit Software and Wellness Design Incubator for Global Innovators where all entrepreneurs are creative engineers. We specialize in Software & Wellness Design for and with local and global innovators to support the connection and communication of their resources from their initial Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) and beyond. This includes software design and development, data analytics and dashboards, and any technology setups for any business. We are an education space teaching entry to expert level Software Engineering tools to CEOs and Founders everywhere, providing global CTO-level vision, strategy, and resources to bring their dreams to reality.
At Spectral, all entrepreneurs’ dreams come true as we bridge the gap between creativity and engineering, combining engineering education, media production, and community engagement to highlight innovators as the creative engineers they are. Our in-house Tech-and-Wellness media publication, Recess Mag, and our Founders Collective, The Int’l Dreamers Club, all foster collaborative resources and feedback during the process of global expression. At Recess, we share and provide ways to engage with the entrepreneurs we partner with and share DIY Project Packs to discover and practice creative software skills for your next tech role or business venture. The Int’l Dreamers Club builds a sense of community amongst the global entrepreneurs we’ve supported with our Software services and financially supports the curation of their technology infrastructures. Our mission at The Spectral Theory is to create safe spaces for entrepreneurs of color to learn, exercise, and engage with emerging technology that will directly support the sustainable development of professional and personal systems of wellness within their businesses and beyond.
I recently started a new role as Technical Advisor of an AI Company here in Atlanta called Book Blaster.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Continue to be aware of the light you have inside so that you may always be aware of the light that exists in others. Be aware of what your light needs to be regenerated, as your light will be the guide for how you interact with yourself & how others interact or grow with you on your journey. Keep it lit!
Pricing:
- Innovation Consultations (Software and Business Design) ($77)
- Software Design (starting at $500)
- Tech-and-Wellness Magazine – Digital ($15)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thespectraltheory.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/camthetechqueen
Image Credits
Donis Studios, Student Opportunities for Career Awareness and Learning (SOCAL), @laybino, @capturethejoyphotography, @donisstudios, @shotsbygo
