Womxn Tell Me Why They Chose STEM

"Let us choose for ourselves our path in life, and let us try to strew that path with flowers"

Emilie du Chatelet

As we grow into adults, especially as we approach the age of going to college, we start to decide the person we are going to be and what we want to do for the rest of our lives. As a freshman in college, I knew I wanted to pursue biology and become a clinical pharmacist. It's important to know what you want to do but also understand why. Whenever I ask someone what their major is, I always ask why. Sometimes their response is really inspiring and other times it's just because they thought it was cool.

I took to Twitter to ask some influential womxn who are thought leaders in STEM and are advocates for womxn in STEM and/or minorities in STEM, why they decided to pursue a degree/career in STEM. I wanted to know whether personal or school experiences led to choosing STEM. I provided a recap of their response and some of my thoughts about what they had to say. It was great having these womxn respond to me and discussing something that could be very private.

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1. Angelina Gallego (astro angie) @AngelinaGa19

Angelina is a Astrophysics PhD student at the University of Minnesota who is also a first-generation student originally from south central Los Angeles. She went into STEM because she loved the stars growing up. Her influence stemmed from her everyday observation and asking why. What are stars & what else is out there that we don't know about? As a child or young adult, it is often our curiosity that leads us to our future. It's the thing other people see and don't take notice in.

"I wanted to study stem because I absolutely loved the stars growing up. I thought space was so so fascinating and I wanted to keep learning and discover things on my own. I decided I wanted to do research and help build up the science book of knowledge!"

2. Devin Swiner (Devin, The Chemist) @Devin_Eleven

Devin is a 5th year analytical chemistry PhD candidate at The Ohio State University. She took an interest in science as a child and had the support of her parents since childhood. But high school allowed her to do experiments and really build into her love for chemistry. Our earliest experiences are often the most influential and the support of a parent makes it even better.

"I have really always loved science as a child, so growing up, my parents did a great job nurturing my interests. My love for chemistry, though, happened in high school. I enjoyed doing experiments and I love the fact that chemistry concepts build on top of each other. Getting to use different techniques to answer scientific questions has been so fulfilling."

3. Dr. Semarhy Quiñones @semarhyquinones Dr. Quiñones is a bacterial geneticist who was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She received her PhD in Microbiology from the University of California - Davis. Dr. Quiñones currently lectures in the department of Biological Sciences at Sacramento State. Her parents were both major influences in her pursuing STEM and were able to provide her some experience in the lab. Her father reinforced the idea of protecting biodiversity which made her appreciate it even more.

"My interest in science started with my parents. He [father] taught me to have respect and appreciation for biodiversity as I learned about sea urchins, tropical fish and other marine life while snorkeling with him. Every afternoon after high school, I would help her [mother] prepare the media (food) to grow bacteria"

4. Dr. Patricia Silveyra @patosilveyra

Dr. Silveyra is an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill where she also serves as Director of the Behavioral Laboratory in the UNC School of Nursing. She is a mentor and an advocate for womxn and underrepresented minority trainees. Dr. Silveyra pursued STEM because a high school teacher was able to help her apply to college, especially being the first in her family. Scholarships and opportunities for women and minorities allowed her to continue her education and career. She now enjoys helping others to obtain a higher education and opportunities.

"And what made me remain in STEM until now is the fact that I can mentor students of all backgrounds and help them achieve bigger and better things in life."

5. Dr. Izzy Jayasinghe @i_jayas

Dr. Jayasinghe received her Ph.D. from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She was awarded the prestigious 7-year UKRI Future Leader Fellowships which allowed her to form the Applied Biophotonics Group in the University of Sheffield Department of Molecular Biology & Biotechnology. Her earliest interest in STEM was through every day experiences like watching the night sky or the skeletons of dead animals. TV shows like Marty Stouffer's "Wild America" made a lasting impression. Her career has allowed her to work with individuals all around the world which she made into friendships, especially individuals who belong to minority groups.

"I have discovered that being able to follow my curiosity and evolve my skill set has been a key driver of my career in STEM. So, I rarely limit my research work to the Biological Sciences. Careers in science are far too short to define one’s research as narrowly as most people do."

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Reading through responses, I realized that a common factor in why these wonderful womxn decided to pursue STEM was because of childhood experiences. They were curious to why the world works and through the support of parents, they were able to achieve careers in STEM. TV shows sometimes inspire us, because they take such complicated concepts and make them simple or they take that science and create a fantasy. Shows like Star Trek are based in some science but use it to create a different world which makes children want to see if they can ever achieve that world. It's almost like magic.

But once we get into STEM, it's the people in STEM who can help further our education and/or career or cause us to feel held back. Scholarship funding for womxn in STEM or minority groups allow individuals who feel underrepresented feel supported.

I'd like to thank all the womxn that responded and allowed me to ask them about why they choose STEM. It was inspiring to hear stories that were similar to mine and know that I can reach that same achievement.

Please make sure to check out everyone I interviewed because they do great work in the STEM field and advocation for womxn in STEM. All their Twitters are linked with their names.