Julia Elizabeth Legacy Scholarship

How many times have people who could have cured cancer been born? This is a question I believe we should ask when assessing the importance of diversity in STEM. I wonder how many scientific achievements have not happened, happened slower or were less significant because would-be contributors had the wrong color of skin. Resistance to diversity in STEM stifles the advancement of humanity in its entirety as it limits the potential of many great minds, offers science a smaller group of influences off of which to grow, and contributes to a lack of equity in society. The greatest scientific achievements are products of a diverse group of influences. We often say that two minds are greater than one, but this is most true when those minds are different. The more people of different backgrounds and thought processes try to solve a problem, the more new solutions will likely arise. Thereafter, the strengths of each solution can be isolated and combined to make a better solution than any individual had thought of. The other benefit of diverse contributions to the same idea is that each person is likely to try to benefit a group of factors that they find important. Having people ask, “What about x population” is how we obtain more widely beneficial laws and healthcare policies for example. Diversity is crucial to the creative process and necessary to ensure the maximum number of people benefit from new inventions, discoveries, etc. which is why it is very important STEM. American STEM field diversity additionally serves as a measure of the opportunities provided to minorities in America. Denial of STEM careers is one of many barriers to diversity in STEM. Many minorities who desire a career in STEM have or will also face educational barriers, such as poor STEM schooling because they live in a historically underserved black neighborhood. They might also face financial struggles to attend a accredited STEM college or have to get a job immediately after high school to help support their family. A lack of diversity in STEM, therefore, can point to a lack of equity in society as many minorities may have no way of going through the steps necessary to obtain a STEM career. In my future career as an educational video game developer, I hope to teach students the importance of diversity and collaboration. I plan to incorporate such themes into my games as, the importance of looking at problems from various perspectives and realizing that great achievements are the product of group work, not a single protagonist. Hopefully for those who do these encourage those who do not have as many barriers to STEM to collaborate with people of diverse ethnicities and backgrounds, and provide all players with some of the skills necessary for good teamwork.

Have you ever been in pain? As a black woman, I know a