AbbyMcGuire

In the past twenty years, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) has become a rapidly growing industry, especially in the tech sector. As all of these new innovations are made and career opportunities open up, it is important that women don’t get left behind. In order to help their students explore the various STEM disciplines, Marian has expanded their STEM curriculum, extracurricular activities and the STEM scholars program. 

Physics and Computer-Aided Design teacher Matthew Winterboer thinks the new courses can help show students whether or not they would like to pursue the discipline further, and offer them new opportunities for STEM education. 

“Dr. Genoways computer science offerings that didn’t exist ten years ago definitely opened the doors for more girls to pursue computer science fields…on the elective side, we’ve definitely broadened the opportunities…between computer aided design, computer science and even environmental science, these will help give students those various opportunities,” Winterboer said.

This exposure to STEM during high school has culminated in some students planning to continue their STEM education after high school. 

Senior Addison Ostronic is planning to major in electrical engineering at the University of Nebraska at Omaha this fall. 

“As I grew up, I was always interested in how electronics work…as I got older, I built my own computer and I was able to find out what interested me and that is finding what parts work together…that’s what led me to choose electrical engineering,” Ostronic said. 

Senior Evelyn Bullock hopes to pursue either mechanical engineering or biomedical engineering once she begins college, “I chose engineering because I’ve always liked math the best and people always think STEM is the non-creative field…but for me, engineering is a way to express my creativity because it is designing solutions for problems.”

For those like Bullock, STEM disciplines offer an outlet for expression and they can use their skills to make the world better. Even though she said she didn’t appreciate math in middle and elementary school, Marian helped to change her perspective on it. 

Now, mathematics has become one of her main reasons for choosing to continue learning about STEM, “I have taken AP Calculus BC, AP Computer Science and I also take Physics II. I would say those three classes made me really want to do engineering because I love everything math-related.” 

In contrast, Ostronic has been drawn towards STEM since her childhood and says Marian has only helped to increase her love for tech because of teacher involvement, “Dr. Genoways and Mr. Winterboer are very open to questions, and they make me feel confident in the questions I’m asking. STEM isn’t an easy field, and there aren’t easy classes; they are deeper level questions that you have questions about…so it’s important to have those people around you that make you feel confident asking those questions,” Ostronic said. 

Marian’s inclusive atmosphere helps students to feel comfortable asking for help, and the STEM teachers make an effort to educate students in ways that make sense to them. 

Although STEM fields are male-dominated, female students are still determined to make an impact in the field. Whether this be in engineering, software design or academia, women are an important asset to the STEM field because they bring in another perspective and are able to advocate for themselves while working on new technologies. 

“I think it’s important for any girl who has a knack or finds an interest in something STEM…I think pursuing something you find passion in and enjoy is important, and so eliminating barriers that might prevent a woman from doing that is important,” Winterboer said. 

Women pursuing STEM fields also foster diversity within the discipline. 

Bullock explains her perspective on why diversity matters, “…STEM is fixing societal issues and if you’re going to do that, you want to have all perspectives…just so you make sure that you’re helping every group and not just men.” 

When Ostronic went to the UNO admitted students day, she and senior Layla Wilke-Conant were the only women in a crowd of around 50 future engineers. 

Although this experience was initially intimidating and surprising, Ostronic said it inspired her to be a role model for other women, “I was more empowered to show what I know and that I can actually do this and hopefully this can be an opportunity to break barriers and represent people who are too scared to do something like this…”

Choosing to pursue STEM is a big decision, and like all major choices, it should be evaluated, and students should seek outside advice while looking at colleges and planning their futures. 

In order to see if something is right for you, Winterboer advises students to job shadow and test out careers, “Talk to people. Talk to the science teachers because quite a few of them have experience outside of just teaching, and definitely job shadow. It is really helpful to do because it can either help confirm a suspicion that you’re interested in something or it can show you that it’s not what you thought it was and you want to look at something else…” 

Although there are gender boundaries to pursuing STEM, there is no harm in trying. No change makers became change makers without taking a chance on an idea and pursuing it. So, to all the STEM girls out there—keep trying. The future of STEM is only expanding, and women belong in these conversations.