New Club - Girls Can STEM

In the middle of Dr. Lindberg’s introduction, she paused briefly and prompted, "Imagine a well-accomplished scientist."

As the school day neared its end, my peers and I were delighted to make use of our free-willed imagination rather than our brainpower. We all immediately compiled to Dr. Lindberg's wishes. I can't necessarily speak on behalf of my classmates, but I closed my eyes and painted a well-detailed picture based on the single sentence. Da Vinci and all the ninja turtles would not stand a chance.

As the eyes began to trickle open, the room also began to fill with conversations about the prompt and others of typical high school life. Dr. Lindberg then stood to bring all conversations to a halt. "Nine out of ten times, the scientist you pictured, was a male," she noted. I questioned the human capabilities of Dr. Lindberg for a moment. Oddly, she was correct. The scientist I pictured was male.

When the bell rang, I continued to question this notion. Why didn't I choose a female scientist? Well, I chose a male because that's what I was used to seeing. In fact, males dominate the STEM field. I conducted my own study and told a few of my close friends the same prompt. I wasn't surprised to hear their statements begin with "a male..." According to the National Girl Collaborative Project, women make up only 28% of the STEM workforce. But why? Well, women are less likely to pursue a career in STEM for several reasons. The most significant contribution, however, is gender stereotypes in the field. I had a distaste for this fact, for I was a woman interested in STEM and wanted to change the prominent gender gap.

President and Co-Founder, Jadynne Zane, recently attended the Stanford CSSSI internship to further her experience and interest in the medical field.

There are thousands of opportunities established to aid women in STEM locally and worldwide. Programs such as “She Can STEM” and “Girls Who Code” are established to change the gender gap. Locally, there are conferences, held by MEDb/WIT, in place to encourage women to dive into STEM. However, the lack of knowledge thereof masked most students in our community; many of these opportunities were left unheard of. I envisioned a way for women, just like me, to discover STEM.

Spewed from the desire for change, I created the first "Girl's Can STEM club" at our school. I want to establish a community where girls connect with other girls who have similar future aspirations. The club will have its first meeting on October 16th. I'm excited to share the events, competitions, and internships I've compiled.

Secretary, Emily Tom, aspires to attain a career in the computer science field. She’s a programmer for our school’s robotics team and has also participated in various coding competitions.

I know our newly established club will further develop a tightly knit group of females who support each other in times of both need and celebration. With our integrated Girls Who Code program, our members will be able to step foot into a whole new world of STEM. By participating, they will also begin the journey of developing skills they'll utilize in the future.

I hope the club will uplift the females in my community to pursue their passion. Although a club is only a small contribution, I hope that the club's establishment helps break the gender gap in the STEM field. Taking on the journey taught me how powerful my voice truly is.

I hope one day, when the prompt, "Imagine a well-accomplished scientist," resurfaces, girls like me can picture a figure like themselves.