Amplify Women in STEM Scholarship

Amplify Women in STEM Scholarship Essay 12/14/2020 Samantha Bechtel Being raised by a single parent in a rural town delayed the discovery of my passion for learning and higher education. I am embarrassed to admit I wasn’t introduced to engineering until my early twenties; an age when many Americans have already completed their undergraduate degrees. However, what I lacked in punctuality, I made up for with passion. I quickly became infatuated with math and engineering and, until COVID-19 struck, frequented schools and makerspaces to teach and learn from others. A makerspace is a collaborative workshop that supplies equipment and technology, as 3d printers, soldering tools, and industrial machines for creative projects. In 2017, I was lucky enough to go on a road trip across the country with a friend and when we arrived in Boston, Massachusetts we went to the Museum of Science. At the museum I saw an exhibition of 3D printed glass, I had some experience with modern 3D printing, so this really fascinated me. On the information panel there was a picture of this beautiful woman named Neri Oxman. “Neri Oxman is an American- Israeli designer and professor at MIT Media Lab, where she leads the Mediated Matter Research Group. She is known for art and architecture that combine design, biology, computing and materials engineering.” I admired Neri because she looks at designing from another perspective. She understands that we must design sustainably and be inspired by nature. “Founded in 1985, the MIT Media Lab is one of the world’s leading research and academic organizations. Unconstrained by traditional disciplines, Media Lab designers, engineers, artists, and scientists strive to create technologies and experiences that enable people to understand and transform their lives, communities, and environments.” My academic focus is engineering sustainable, innovative living spaces and devices that benefit the planet and humans' quality of life. I am currently majoring in Mechanical Engineering at Portland State University. If I was able to go to Graduate school I would love to join the Mediated Matter Research Group, I find all that they do intriguing. I am also interested in working with NASA or companies like space X that are designing and building innovative technologies. I hope to continue to inspire young women to study STEM. I currently work at The Museum of Science and Industry(OMSI) teaching 7th Graders engineering techniques. I used to teach them welding with a company called Hedron Hackerspace before I worked at OMSI. These programs are possible through the 7th Grade Career Tech Exploration at Portland Public Schools. As I mentioned earlier I did not get introduced to engineering until my early twenties because of this I believe it is imperative to get girls involved with STEM. I have this book called the Women Lead and I read about these women in STEM that are doing incredible things and I want to do the same thing as these women by inspiring others and with this scholarship this can become more possible. Material Referenced from: www.media.mit.edu