High school student helps girls break boundaries in STEM with Girls Inc.
High school senior Katie Kee didn’t always enjoy studying STEM (the acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics) coursework, although she puts it a little more bluntly.
“I basically hated STEM,” said Kee.
Today, she feels differently. She sits in a space at the Girls Inc. of Orange County headquarters in Santa Ana, where staff members are busy putting up red and silver decorations. Kee and other graduates of the organization’s Grad Lab college readiness program will celebrate later in the evening with an awards ceremony. With help from Girls Inc., Kee has made it her mission to break down the barriers that prevented her from enjoying STEM earlier in her educational journey.
“The middle school that I went to only let kids in the gifted and talented program that had these really high test scores take STEM classes like programming and engineering,” said Kee. “I wasn’t ever identified as one of those students and it gave me the mentality that you have to be really good at standardized testing to succeed in STEM.”
There is also a notable gender gap in STEM. According to the American Assn/ of University Women, men outnumber women in most STEM fields in college, and women make up 34% of the workforce in that set of related industries. Engineering and computer science are two of STEM’s most lucrative fields, but they remain heavily male dominated. Gender stereotypes that insist boys are better at math and science subjects than girls persist, and that thinking prevents girls from even considering exploring a career path in the STEM industries, according to researchers.
“It wasn’t until my freshman year AP Computer Science Principles class that I saw I was actually not bad at this subject,” said Kee.
Kee is currently enrolled in the computer science program called Global Information Technology Academy at her school, Brea Olinda High School and is a member of the first graduating class of the AP Capstone program. She also completed an eight-week internship with Boeing in Huntington Beach.
Girls Inc. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to equipping girls like Kee with the skills and resources to reach their full potential. Part of that mission means working to close the gender gap in STEM is by introducing it to girls at an early age.
“A lot of the work that we do and the time that we spend is providing opportunities for exposure to STEM. It is really important” said Lucy Santana-Ornelas, chief executive officer at Girls Inc. of Orange County. “Girls might not have many people around them that are in those STEM fields or careers.”
Kee said participating in Girls Inc. Grad Lab program helped empower her to take on the challenge of STEM.
“Girls Inc. really helped me realize the power of females bonding together and the importance of the female voice; in STEM in general it is predominately male influenced,” said Kee.
She points out there are few young women in her Global Information Technology Academy class.
“There are only five girls, including me, out of a class of 35 students,” said Kee. “Girls Inc. really helped me realize the power of that community.”
A STEM haven for girls
Girls Inc. of Orange County also offers STEM-focused programming itself like Imagine Science Fun-gineering, STEM Success and a Robotics program that teaches coding and allows students the chance to program an NAO humanoid robot using Choreographer software.
“We also have our Eureka! program, which is a four-week summer camp for middle school girls that has different aspects of science and technology every summer,” said Santana-Ornelas.
During the Eureka! program, hands-on activities center around themes that in the past have included robotics, biomedical engineering, theme park design and a CSI week, with girls using evidence to solve a camp “crime.”
“The opportunity to experience [STEM activities] without fear in a girl-only environment that is supportive — that is important,” said Santana-Ornelas. “What we hear from parents is about how their daughter used to be very quiet and shy but [after being in a STEM program] she is talking up a storm about things she is learning.”
Kee was inspired to make change herself by launching the Stem Stitch, a nonprofit organization promoting social justice in STEM education.
“I started it sophomore year because I wanted to bridge the gap that I had in STEM education when I was younger,” said Kee. “We are a completely remote organization, but we have had such an impact on younger students.”
Kee’s nonprofit helps connects young girls with STEM opportunities such as fellowships, high school STEM internships or connecting groups of students with undergrad students from MIT and Columbia to mentor them.
“I have had alumni come back and say, ‘The community that I have met here has been so amazing, and I have started my own initiatives in my area,’ ” Kee said.
She is now preparing for the next phase of her education, with Grad Lab helping her with the college application process. She is hoping to get accepted to UCLA, where she plans to pursue a degree in a STEM-related field.
“I am currently looking at a career in cybersecurity, which combines law and ethics with computer science,” said Kee.
Creating a safe space for young girls to test out STEM activities helps them feel more at home in industries that typically count them out, leading to young women like Kee finding their true passion, according to Santana-Ornelas.
Kee hopes her work will inspire other girls.
“When I was in middle school, I was afraid to try STEM because I was told I couldn’t do it, but if you try you might find out you are really interested in it or you are really good at it,” said Kee. “Maybe like me, you won’t ever look back.”
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