Who is Christina Roki? TikTok car mechanic on a mission to get women to pursue careers in STEM

Christina Roki’s family couldn’t afford a mechanic when their automobile broke down.

The TikTok influencer had a daring notion instead of giving up: what if she fixed it herself? This is the tale of her motivational action.

Who is Christina Roki?

With more than three million followers on social media, Christina Roki is a social media star and motor enthusiast.

She was born on Christmas Day, 2000, in Detroit.

Between 2019 and 2021, the rising STEM influencer graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s degree in computer science engineering.

Additionally, the 23-year-old and Grant Sloan, her partner of more than five years, have a YouTube channel where they publish vlogs about purchasing, constructing, and altering cars.

Her foray into the field, however, began while her family was having financial difficulties.

Any assistance was appreciated because there wasn’t much money left over after a growing family.

The majority would seek assistance from family members or obtain a short-term loan.

She decided to take matters into her own hands and learn the skills herself when their automobile needed to be fixed.

Christina became a spectacular success story by using her newly acquired knowledge and social media skills to solve her parents’ automotive problems.

She made her first TikTokin post in January 2020.

With over 3.7 million TikTok followers and 265,000 Instagram followers, she is currently a dominant force in the specialized field of automotive engineering and aesthetics.

Hundreds of thousands of people watch her videos, which are posted multiple times a week.

It has solidified her status as one of the leading automakers.

The twist is that Christina wasn’t immediately successful.

She encountered criticism from her father after repeatedly failing to fix that car.

She admitted to crying, as she informed Chaldean News.

It’s merely your own support system’s persistent skepticism.

It made me angry, confused, and doubtful of my own skills. Even if your own father says that you can’t do it because you’re a girl, you have to dismiss it.

Christina used to joke as a child that she was the family’s guy.

She shared household tasks and got along well with her sisters, although she tended to pursue interests that are often associated with men, such as computer science, engineering, and vehicles.

Christina started learning about auto repair on YouTube when the notorious automobile problems started.

Through her viral videos, millions of people can now hear the echoes of her first clanking, which was prompted by those occasions.

Another difficulty was persuading her mother to allow her to relocate to Los Angeles when she was 18.

According to Christina, they find it difficult to comprehend social media, TikTok, automotive engineering, and the educational component of it.

Knowing that I was able to turn it into anything is a major factor in success.

At first, Christina’s mother objected to her working on projects with boys.

Christina retorted, “I’m trying to change that, but there aren’t any girls to work with.”

She is currently working to open doors for other women in the field.

In retrospect, Christina concedes that it all seems a little ridiculous, but she also recognizes how much it inspired her ambition.

“It definitely fueled me and led me to where I am now,” she said.

She became more resilient as a result of her family’s skepticism, which enabled her to ignore critical remarks on social media.

It’s just one more factor that keeps me going and learning while also increasing my motivation.

She shared a video on TikTok in December 2021 of her mother being halted by airport security after her bag of sugar was thought to contain drugs.

Where is Christina Roki from?

Roki’s mother had made friends with another Chaldean, and the two of them had three children, including Christina.

Her roots are hence in the northern Iraqi Catholic Syriac group.

However, Christina’s path has not been simple.

She holds a special place in the automotive influencer industry as a young, first-generation American woman.

The tale of her family is one of perseverance.

Her mother and family walked to the Turkish border in search of safety from Iraq shortly before the Iran-Iraq war in 1980.

They then requested for refugee status, but the family was dispersed, just like many others in the Chaldean diaspora.

Some family members ended up in Canada, while others in Europe.

Christina’s mother returned to Canada with her and her siblings when she was around five years old, reestablishing contact with relatives there.

When they moved back to the Detroit area for middle school, Christina’s tale really started to take shape.

“I was always trying to make ends meet with my parents’ bills,” she added.

I didn’t blame my parents, though.

According to Christina, her mother frequently worked two or three jobs at once, and her sisters helped out wherever they could, even translating for their parents.

This occasionally entailed assisting with tasks like filing taxes, applying for healthcare or food stamps, or keeping up with domestic chores.

“My head was always in the real world,” she continued.

My cousins and sisters are always there for me. My mother would give us a dollar if she had it in her pocket.

What did Christina Roki study?

Christina’s first meaningful introduction to computer science and engineering in a classroom was robotics, and it changed everything.

She chose to pursue the field as a career after falling in love with it.

The experience also gave her the confidence to collaborate with groups of boys in a traditionally male-dominated space an asset she s carried with her ever since.

Her journey began at Stevenson High School in Sterling Heights, where she met her statistics and calculus teacher, Mr. Carpenter.

She said: He was one of my biggest mentors.

He informed me of numerous scholarships and opportunities.

She admired his ability to teach to each student s needs instead of treating the class as one average group.

Mr. Carpenter encouraged her to join the robotics team, sparking her passion for computer science even further.

Christina launched her own campaign for women in STEM even before she graduated.

Christina explained: The robotics team in high school is there so we can learn and make mistakes.

I wanted to create something like that but less competitive.

That idea grew into Project 102, Christina s annual automotive STEM camp for women.

The program welcomes 20 female high school students each year for a five-day experience filled with workshops, lectures, and hands-on vehicle modification projects.

She shared: I want to inspire girls to join male-dominated fields.

Being Chaldean, our families want us to be doctors and pharmacists, but I just wanted to be an engineer.

I wanted to introduce it to other students for free so they can figure out if it s a passion of theirs.

This is something you can t really do unless someone puts it in front of you.

Christina understands that many car engineers and mechanics discover the field through family or friends opportunities that women often miss.

She s working to change that, one STEM camp, and millions of online viewers, at a time.

Christina graduated from Stevenson High School a year early and entered the University of Michigan s College of Engineering as a junior, eager to continue breaking barriers.