Show your Mettle - Women in STEM Scholarship

Joining the STEM field has been an interest to me since I was very young. The reason for this is the immense feeling of confidence and my desire to learn when I am involved in astrophysics and mathematics. Growing up, I was taught that your career should be something you are truly passionate about. It should be something that pushes you to pursue deeper ways of thinking. Your passion should create a flame within you that continues to grow as you continue to learn. For myself, the idea of joining a STEM field has pushed me to take more difficult classes in preparation for my future career. As a result, I have also grown as an individual. There are many obstacles set in place in any STEM field, but even larger ones for women. Although the career field is growing in numbers of females, there is still a large divide between the percentage of men and women who fill these roles. With this divide and the world’s historical past, there will likely be times when I feel that my own ideas are outweighed or not considered by those of my male colleagues. In preparing to enter this field the best piece of advice given to me, by a young female astrophysicist and student at Harvard, was that if you have checked your work and feel like you have the solution then you should never be scared to say it out loud. She reminded me that Astrophysics and mathematics will always have a right answer and the problems themselves do not care whether you are female or male when you solve them. Another challenge I expect to face within the STEM industry will be failure. As a “recovering perfectionist” as I like to call myself, I do not always welcome the idea of failure. However, in a field that’s goal is to push the boundaries of what others think capable, it needs to be a realistic expectation that failure can and will occur. Although, it will always be difficult to see hard work be deemed as a failed attempt, I think being involved in the STEM field has shown me that failures can be forms of learning. In many cases, I have found that I learn more from failed attempts then successful ones. It is this shift in perspective, and necessary innovation and determination that keep me motivated to pursue a career in the field of STEM. I know the road to obtaining a career in Astrophysics will not be easy. However, I believe that the growth and hard work I will experience will make me capable of taking on the hardest obstacles. As the STEM field changes my perspectives and outlooks, I also hope to change the common view of who can be involved within it. Just as I continue to be encouraged by other women with the same dream as me, I want to encourage others to pursue their passions as well.