Jefferson Scholars Foundation Institute for Leadership and Citizenship Speech
Monday, August 8, 2016
Many of you have probably heard about my interest in STEM outreach at some point. Thankfully, I’m not here to tell you a list of information that you can easily find by reading my LinkedIn profile. Instead, I want to give you some insights into why I’m motivated to pursue STEM outreach and what that means about who I am, and perhaps I can inspire you to try a little outreach yourselves if you haven’t already.
I created my outreach program, Girls Can Change the World with Science, after I completed a project through which I was granted funding to travel to the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics to research astronomer Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin. She discovered that hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, but most of us do not know her story because she did not receive all of the credit that she deserved for her discovery. For example, if I had brought in a stack of science and engineering textbooks as tall as I am, it's very likely that many of them would mention the most abundant element, but it's also very likely that not one of them would mention who discovered that fact.
As I interviewed women scientists of several generations for that project, a common thread was that almost all of them told me that they feel that young girls today still need more role models to inspire their interest in STEM fields. I myself have been incredibly fortunate to have grown up with role models. I grew up in a rural setting in which the environment was central, and my father, who is an engineer, farmer, woodworker, auto mechanic, builder, and patented inventor all-in-one, has the strongest work ethic of anyone I have ever met. My mom, who is a state laboratory inspector, has always encouraged and supported me to pursue my interests and passions. I was lucky enough to have those two role models right there beside me growing up. But most young girls are not that lucky. Some children do not have strong role models at home, and it is nearly impossible for them to imagine themselves pursuing a STEM career if they have never even been exposed to the concept in their everyday lives. It is with that in mind that I set out to help girls see themselves as scientists and engineers.
At this point, you may be thinking, “Mary-Michael likes working with kids.” But what if I told you that that wasn’t the case, at least when I started out on this path? I’m not someone who naturally has a maternal instinct or who is naturally drawn to kids. When I started working with kids, it was a struggle. I was way out of my comfort zone. Over time, I learned to overcome this by thinking less about myself when I went into a classroom and more about the students and how I could best present myself in a way that would truly make them excited to participate in my presentation and, for example, make them truly want to take a drop of pond water and look at all of the microorganisms inside it with a microscope.
One vivid memory of my outreach occurred at Altavista Elementary School, my alma mater, when I asked a group of girls what they thought a scientist looked like. One girl, Sara, raised her hand and said, “a white lab coat and gray and white hair sticking straight up with all these scissors on his hands.” My goal is to help girls realize that, sure, scientists and engineers can look like Albert Einstein, (maybe not Edward Scissorhands, which seems to be what she was describing), but scientists can also look like you and me. They can look like Mae Jemison, the first African American woman to go into space as a NASA astronaut. A scientist or an engineer can also look like those young girls in that classroom. I told Sara that she herself looks like a scientist to me.
This summer, I am working as an intern at the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center here in Charlottesville. Not only do I have the opportunity to discuss nature and science with camp groups, but I also spend a significant amount of time kayaking with these students and learn about nature that way. Even though it has only been one summer, I feel that I've been able to make real connections with some of those students.
And every time a student that I’ve worked with over the past three years reaches out to me with book suggestions or asks for my advice on science fair project ideas, I feel that what I’m doing, and the relationships that I’ve forged, truly matter. Recognizing that what I do is worthwhile makes me want to continue these connections and this outreach throughout the rest of my life, not just in college, as I pursue my other passions and hopefully a successful career.
That's why what we're doing with the Boys and Girls Club on Wednesday is so important. We truly have the power to make a difference in some of those kids' lives. And, who knows, maybe there's a future Jeff Scholar in that group!