Point A to Point B Is Sometimes a Curved Line
Navigating your education and career path doesn't always look like ticking the boxes on a well-polished checklist - especially if you are a woman pursuing a career in tech or STEM like I have. Sometimes the road less traveled is more difficult to walk through, but it has led me to destinations I'd be unable to reach if I had stayed on the 'typical' path.
Finding Your Place at the Table in STEM
From a young age, girls are encouraged to play with toy kitchens and dress up their dolls, while boys are encouraged to tinker with Legos or model cars. Of the women who do successfully pursue a STEM-related career, like engineering, they may not be supported in the ways they need. The STEM industry being a majority male is not by mistake but rather an inevitable consequence of a gendered upbringing.
Retention rates of women in STEM show this lack of internal support - staggering statistics say women are much more likely to prematurely leave this industry than any other. From a study published in Social Forces, "After about 12 years, 50% of women who originally worked in STEM have left, compared to only 20% of professional women." (1) This study also found that a majority of women who exit the STEM field do so in the first five years of employment!
I earned two degrees in Marketing from the University of Toledo. You might be thinking - what does marketing have to do with STEM? It's no secret - marketing is not directly related to STEM or technology.
Marketing was a great way to offer my services to technology companies and further integrate myself into STEM and learn. So, that's exactly what I did! Sometimes finding your seat at a table typically reserved by men means getting creative. That curvature between points A and B brought me so much joy, reflection, learning, and success.
Although walking the path I chose to walk was valuable, it was not easy. I had to make my space at the table. Once I had that space at the table, I wanted to make sure I was paving the way for more spaces to be made for young women so they did not need to walk such a difficult path. That's when I turned to volunteering!
My Mission
By volunteering with FIRST, I helped lead high school STEM enthusiasts as they built competitive robots. It was a ton of fun! Or, as my students would say, it's the hardest fun you'll ever have. Teaching the kids to challenge themselves, engage their curiosity, and work together across multi-disciplinary issues was an immensely rewarding experience for me.
The gender bias around STEM might start young, but it doesn't have to continue. In my time volunteering with STEM programs, I have been able to show kids of all genders, backgrounds, and ages that science, math, technology, and engineering are not limited to a certain type of person. In fact, STEM is a lot more effective when groups of diverse people put their heads together toward the same goal.
Apart from the years I've spent facilitating mentorship for robotics competitions at FIRST, I've spent time volunteering for multiple high school robotics teams' efforts. Offering guidance and championing curiosity among children and young adults is a cause that is near to my heart.
I also serve as a regional judge at Capital BEST Robotics. As a judge, I can be a living example to young people in STEM that not only can women participate in STEM, they can actually make a difference and be a leader in the field.
Making myself visible as a woman in tech is so important to me because representation inspires young people. If you think of all of the science, math, and tech wizards in recent history, a few names may come to mind: Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Bill Gates…. Just to name a few. These people all have at least one thing in common: they are male. This doesn't mean that women aren't in tech; they are!
However, when young people look out into the world and see all the big accomplishments in STEM being made largely by men, it's hard for a young girl to see herself being capable of such success. If young women do not see accomplished women in fields like STEM, they may be blind to the idea that they can even do it.
Young women might think they have to choose between science or traditional femininity. I am a living example to young women that this isn't true. After all, I am a pageant contestant who loves STEM just as much as I love a beautiful dress.
Looking Forward…
During my time mentoring young people, I have witnessed first-hand the confidence and skillsets that can be built early on in life by introducing STEM to a wider audience of young people. These young people will take the skills they learned in their programs with them for the rest of their life, paving a new way forward for the next generation. I'm confident the work we are doing with young people in this industry will create a future where the sciences look much more collaborative and diverse.
I am always looking for new opportunities to get involved in STEM-related mentoring. I look forward to continuing my mentorship positions and other opportunities where I can help young women find their place in STEM!
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