When I was in first grade I wanted to be president. During high school I realized how awful of a career that would be and I decided to become an actuary. (For those who don't know, an actuary is a statistician who works generally with insurance companies to determine risk.) In high school this plan seemed normal and reasonable. Other than the fact that most people would ask me what an actuary was, I never really thought I was doing anything out of the ordinary. I mean, in public education all "top tier" students are funneled through the same AP classes and it's a pretty even 50/50 gender split. It wasn't until I got to my first statistical theory classes in college that I noticed something strange. I was the only girl in my smaller lab sections and I was one of only a handful of girls in my larger lectures. I mostly ignored this fact and continued on with my educational advancement.
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| Idk what pictures to add so here's one of a robot I drew |
As I went through the school year, however, a few things bothered me. I had classmates write me off in study groups: they would ask a general question which I would answer, then they would give a half nod of approval and wait for a male peer to confirm my answer. I had a male classmate upset at me because I got a better score on a test that he did; I mean how could my inferior second X-chromosome compare to his clearly superior Y-chromosome?? When I was working at a call center I had a woman, after asking me what my major was, comment "good for you! But wouldn't you rather be a nurse--they use science!" While I was hanging out with a group of friends, one boy commented "Oh I would never date a STEM major--what if she was smarter than me?!" Little did he know that if a girl really was smarter than him, they wouldn't agree to go on a date with someone like him in the first place.
To be fair, these are only the most ridiculous examples of my experience, and I am going to a private religious university and have no knowledge of the culture at other universities, but also this is all only in my first year of college. I had never considered that I was doing something out of the ordinary until my theory classes started. I had made my career-path decision and I was following it.
With that said, I would like to write a letter to girls considering STEM:
Dear amazing human,
Deciding what you want to do with your life is a hugely difficult decision. If you have decided that you want to pursue a STEM field I want you to know that it's hard, but also very rewarding. Plus, "Women in STEM" luncheons always have the best food!
I hope you to realize that your decision to go into a "male-dominated" field is not extraordinary. What you do in that field can be extraordinary. I hope you remember and are thankful for the intelligent and strong women that came before you.
If you continually strive to be your best self, to work hard, to do your homework and show up to class, to develop and pursue new ideas, to further your field, then you can and will succeed. Don't let other people control you; do what is best for you. Your life is yours, be thankful for the opportunities you have, but never settle for closed doors. Be kind. Be strong. Be confident.
You will do great things. Keep going.
Love always,
Shannon
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