Learner Tutoring Innovators of Color in STEM Scholarship

One of my favorite quotes my old high school robotics coach used to say was, “Engineering is just like building legos, except our legos are WAY more expensive,”. In elementary school, I loved (and still do) crafts and art—coupled with a strong aversion to math. Walking into my 3rd-grade class, you would always find me doing one of two things, coloring with as many colorful markers as I could find or playing in the classroom Lego pit. Every birthday whenever my dad asked me what I wanted, it would always be art supplies and a new LEGO Friends set, since I was adamant about building a collection of every Friends’ Dream Houses. Eventually, the dream houses I built out of Legos would turn into buildings, and by middle school I’d ask for Lego Architecture sets, trying to recreate the Eiffel Tower or Taj Mahal. Soon enough, I was messing around with Lego Mindstorm sets, trying to code Lego robots, and eventually in high school sketching prototypes for 120-pound aluminum robots. This slow transition made me realize how creativity was actually at the root of engineering. It taught me that engineering is just like art, except instead of paints, brushes, and canvas we use math, science, and occasionally metal. With a history of white and male demographics dominating the STEM field, many students are immediately turned off by the idea of getting involved in STEM. In addition, STEM degrees have a reputation for being difficult to pursue due to their intense math and science requirements, but I hope to show how math and science are only half of what is required to be a good engineer. I aim to be an example of how physical appearances don’t determine a creative engineer. One of the most important parts of my high school robotics experience was that having even just one other POC or woman in the room made me feel like I belonged. I aim to stay in the STEM field to help other minorities feel the same way. I hope to encourage students younger than me who might find STEM daunting or too “mathy” to realize how artistic STEM can be. As I pursue a degree in mechanical engineering, I hope to encourage other students my age or even older to stay in the STEM field. Retention is the most crucial part of diversifying the STEM field, and I hope that I can be a friend, classmate, and/or co-worker who supports BIPOC people around me. As a result of increasing retention, I hope to help create an environment where being a person of color (or any minority for that matter) is no longer something we need to point out or emphasize. I want to help create an environment where being BIPOC and pursuing a degree in STEM is normalized and no longer something that stands out. I hope to create an environment where being a POC in STEM is no longer needed to “work towards” because it already exists.