Girls Get STEM is targeted to helping K-12 girls achieve and excel in the STEM field. Many STEM schools are competitive and challenging to get into, and it is crucial for one to have enough credentials and hands-on experience in their field. There are multiple different kinds of extracurricular opportunities one can do during high school that will boost resumes and provide an idea of what a future career will look like. For example, volunteering at a local hospital or joining the robotics team are both engaging activities that can help stimulate passion for a potential career. Other activities include internships and shadowing STEM professionals. These opportunities are less accessible, and it is important to reach out to your school staff to see if they have any connections to make this possible.
In addition, it can also be troubling to figure out what occupation is right for you. There are various niche healthcare, engineering, computer programming, and science based jobs that are not well known to the public. To improve credentials and find the perfect STEM job, extracurricular activities such as volunteering or being an active member of school clubs will play a major role in assisting you in finding your calling. It is common for cities or schools to host job fairs which contain people who have advice about their career and the steps taken to get where they are. Read the interview below about a high school STEM student who has achieved multiple awards for their participation in the community and has taken advantage of educational opportunities.
Interview:
Q: What is your name and grade?
A: My name is Sahasra Anne and I’m a senior at Simi Valley High School.
Q: What STEM awards have you won during high school?
A: During high school, I earned an Honorable mention from the National Center for Women and Informational Technology (NCWIT) for aspirations in computing and a certificate of merit for excellence in science and math from the Society of Women Engineers.
Q: How did you earn them?
A: For the NCWIT award, I earned it through submitting various coding projects (some of which were focused around areas regarding social issues), discussing how technology plays a central role in my life and my future, and describing my journey of working with technology. The Society of Women Engineers award came as a surprise to me as I was nominated by a math or science teacher at my high school.
Q: What STEM activities have you accomplished during high school?
A: Some of the STEM activities I’ve accomplished during high school are putting in 650+ volunteering hours through my local hospital and clinic, participating in multiple Girls Who Code Programs, participating in an Amgen STEM Entrepreneurship Summer Program, volunteering as a grader/tutor at Kumon, a summer internship at Pacific One Source for auditing and repairing devices, and taking multiple dual enrollment classes like R programming and data science through Moorpark College.
Q: How were you able to find/apply to these activities?
A: I found all of these activities through asking friends and family around or through the career/job fair at the Simi Valley Library. In addition there are various social media accounts that advertise for volunteers to join their program.
Q: How would you rate your experience volunteering at these areas?
A: Personally, I loved my experience with volunteering in all these areas. It’s always so nice to have hands-on experience, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to give back to my community and do it. Throughout my volunteer work, I thoroughly enjoyed combining different areas of my interest together to do something I was passionate about.
Q: How did these activities help you figure out your future STEM career?
A: These activities really helped me narrow down what I wanted my career to be focused on in STEM. I always knew that I wanted to do something with STEM, but I was never really too sure about what. At first, I was interested in going into the medical field, but then I did a couple programs through the Girls Who Code organization, where I was able to build a foundation in a variety of coding languages, and I figured out that was something I really enjoyed. More specifically, I enjoyed learning more about the data analysis, cybersecurity, and AI parts of technology, so I hope to pursue a future career in those fields one day.
Q: What steps did you take to win a Women In STEM Award?
A: To win a women in STEM award, I kind of just put myself out there. I tried my best to get a feel into a bunch of different fields to see what I liked best, and eventually I found my favorite. The awards came unexpectedly due to the results of my hard work.
Q: Do you have any high school advice to members of Girls Get STEM?
A: To all the members of Girls Get STEM, I highly recommend you try and take every opportunity you have. I know it might seem scary at first, but as you try new things, you’ll find stuff you really like, and want to explore further.
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