James Lynn Baker II #BeACoffeeBean Scholarship

A huge issue that I see affecting my country that I want to change, especially after seeing Black History Month wrap up and Women's History Month begin, is black female representation in the STEM fields. This may seem like a very specific issue, that doesn't affect many people, but it has been a real and constant issue that I have dealt with since I became interested in STEM as a young elementary school student. Worse yet, I have noticed that as I venture into the STEM community, the more involved and committed I get, I experience more and more discrimination and isolation. When I began high school I already knew that I wanted to be an engineer so I decided to join the engineering pathway that my high school offered. At this time only 25% of my engineering class were girls, with me being the only black girl in the entire class of 24 students. For the next 2 years, I was the only girl in my entire engineering classes, which were still comprised of about 24 students each year. This year, I was lucky enough to be in an engineering class along with one of my close friends, who is also a young black woman, but we are the only two girls in the class. I mention all of this to say that even though I have been 100% sure that I want to be an engineer and work in the STEM field for years, being this isolated in all of these classes that directly relate to my future career has often left me to seriously question if I would even want to continue down this career field. I would say to myself "I have had to put forth my best effort while being constantly discriminated against for being a black girl in a male-dominated field for years; do I want to do this to myself for the rest of my life?". After having to deal with the feeling that following my aspirations meant that I would be constantly putting myself in situations where I would always be initially judged by my race and my gender, I decided to try to put an end to this. A few months ago, I contacted my AP Calculus teacher in an effort of creating a 'Women in STEM' club. Though we are both very busy, we have both been trying to get this club up and running, even if it has to begin next year. After having to deal with constant judgment, discrimination, and isolation based on 2 factors I have no control of and can't change, it has become very important to me to try to help others in this situation (all women, but black women more specifically) and for them to know that they are not alone. I don't want anyone else to deal with the self-loathing and self-doubt that comes from thinking that they are less-than because of their race or gender.