Shoutout to Marian R. Croak. Marian Croak is the reason we’re able to speak on digital devices. She is a prolific inventor in the voice and data communication fields, with over 200 patents to her name. She is best known for developing Voice Over Internet Protocols (VoIP), technology that converts your voice into a digital signal, allowing you to make a call directly from a computer or other digital device. Croak’s career took off in 1982 when she joined AT&T Bell Laboratories. There, she served in various positions in voice and data communication for over three decades. Predicting that the Internet would take over wire technology, Croak felt compelled to develop technology that would “transform the internet.” She succeeded by establishing the fundamentals for what is now called VoIP. While climbing the ladder at AT&T Labs, Croak furthered technology in areas such as voice and text messaging on cellular phones. She invented the technology that allows people to send text-based donations to charity. She’s quoted as saying, "Many people think inventors have to be brilliant and off the charts in terms of their IQ, super smart and super academic in school and have gotten all A's, and that's not at all true. Inventors are usually people like you. Sometimes they're good at certain things, other times they're not, and that's ok. Just focus on what you want to change and you become that change and can make that change happen." How real is that? Thank you for your contributions.