Girls In Stem - Blog Posts

What encouraging words would you say to girls and women with dreams and ambitions who live in oppressive environments?

Any advice for young girls going into the sciences?

Resources for Women in STEM

As a women in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) I wanted to share my resources with you. Each of these camps I participated in, teams I joined and communities I became a part of boosted my confidence in my STEM abilities and fueled my passion to pursue my dream career.

1) NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Award- National Center for Women and  Information Technology (NCWIT) hosts an award for high school students interested in pursuing a career in computer science. “The NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing honors young women at the high-school level for their computing-related achievements and interests. Awardees are selected for their computing and IT aptitude, leadership ability, academic history, and plans for post-secondary education.” 

As an Aspirations Award winner you have access to exclusive scholarships, internship opportunities and get to be a part of a network of thousands of other women passionate about computer science. I know many groups over-hype their networking but this group has honestly opened so many unique doors for me. Five of us NCWITers had the opportunity to represent the group at President Obama’s Champions of Change Event at the White House. There were receptions at Facebook, Google, and the main event at the White House. We got to advocate for Women in STEM and I talked about project based learning.

Another opportunity that was a result of being an Aspirations Award Winner was my ability to attend Defrag Tech conference in Denver Colorado on a scholarship. My first posts on this blog are about Defrag.

2) NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Community Women studying in computer science in college, from an academic alliance institution, a major or minor in a related major, and qualifying GPA can become a part of this community! (very similar to the aspirations award group described above). In addition there is also a yearly collegiate award for $7,500 for three members in their junior year or above. 

3) St. Olaf Engineering and Physics Camp for Girls this is a top notch camp for high schoolers where for a whole week you are spending the majority of your time with power tools in your hand designing a Rube Goldberg machine using solenoids, motors, and limit switches. The other part of your week? Presentations from women engineers, liquid nitrogen ice-cream, looking a Saturn through a telescope, and the best college food in the Midwest. Think Northfield, MN is too far away? Trust me, this camp is worth that trip. 

4) Women In Engineering Camp at Michigan Tech College High schoolers get ready for a week long crash course in engineering. Learn about electrical, chemical, computer, and mechanical engineering. While I was there we built submarine robots and imaged logo figures onto glass with a laser.

Didn't see something for your age group? Check the “Launch your Career in Aerospace” post. Photo descriptions in the captions.

🧬Exam Diary - Biology Paper 3🧬

On Friday I had my last exam, biology. Honestly, I was so pleased with it. The questions were alright, but the essay was phenomenal, and I’m so glad I finished on a high!

Well that’s it, A-levels are over. It’s a very strange sensation, but a wonderful one nonetheless.

Well done for everyone getting through exams. They were so difficult and I’m so proud of you all! ☺️💛🌷

The longer I look at the illustration my materials science professor put in his PowerPoint, the more convinced I am, that he secretly hates students and is actively trying to sabotage us

Or he has grown fond of us over the last year and he just wants to see our faces again next semester

Do you ever feel like it was way easier to find friends, when you were younger? I don’t know what happened, but somehow between the age of 13 and now, I lost most of my social skills. I get really bad anxiety when talking to strangers and now I only have one friend at Uni and she’s skipping classes pretty often so I don’t know if she’ll pass the exams. All of my close friends live far away, I’m scared of being lonely.

Well, at least I have the neighborhood cats, that’s step one of my 15-year-plan to become a crazy cat lad 🩵🤍

Madly in love with my newest IKEA purchase and the neighbor‘s cat Timmy (even though he constantly tries to break into our apartment -a criminal, but a cute one)

Also I’m already 🌼stressed🌼 about my exams

Current mood:

✨ staring at my mechanics assignment humming Adam Lambert’s „Whataya want from me“ ✨

Please send help 🙃

It has come to my attention that drinking an average of five coffees a day is not considered normal/healthy. I also am starting to think that my permanent headaches may be caused by caffeine withdrawals when I don’t meet my coffee average.

I did a quick doodle during my math class, look at this cute little dragon 💕

Anyways, I‘m skipping my physics lecture today in order to get some other things done before going to work. So not ✨academia✨of me

Went to a beautiful café in my hometown today with one of my best friends 💕 I also decided to start playing the piano more frequently again and bought the Bridgerton Song book, since I prefer modern piano covers

My plan to digitalize my notes on my iPad didn't happen today, since the Apple Pencil I bought on eBay is not working at all. Like -this thing is clinically dead. Also I had to move to the living room, since my boyfriend typing on his keyboard is currently the most annoying sound in the world to me. Needless to say, I didn't start my study session in a good mood.

But: I did what any sane person would do and made myself a macchiato and a bowl filled with sweets.

It's a beautiful day outside and I already feel a bit better, now that I've actually started.

Hi! I’m Mel, and this blog a project of mine I’ve been thinking about for a while. This is basically a digital archive for all my science thoughts- anything that I feel deserves more attention, published research, or just things I find really cool! Keep in mind that I’m a minor (17 years old) and I’ll be using the block button liberally if I feel uncomfortable 🪐💫

divider by @ianrkives