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Asked by hunt11spy to Stefanie on 24 Jan 2022.
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Stefanie Fields answered on 24 Jan 2022:
I am assuming that you mean “this” is referring to the “I am a Scientist” program? I think this is a great platform to inspire young women, and show that it is possible to be a force in the world of STEM. I had a professor always remind me of Thomas Edison’s quote, “Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration”, to get me to realize anything is possible with hard work. Remember, no matter what obstacle stands in the way, certain hard class/subject/test to a gender biased field of work, you can make it happen. Just put in the hard work 🙂
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Comments
Chiara commented on :
When I was a kid, everybody was telling me that women can’t be engineers. Their main job is to be a mum and take care of the house. I have always felt wrong because of my dream. However, watching the news, I could see that a lot of women worked in the lab for many space missions. Seeing people like me achieving the same dream I had made me feel super strong and it convinced me to pursue my path no matter what the other people in my village said. This program is essential for young women that want to pursue a STEM carrier. They can see that many other women made it through and I hope that it will make them feel as strong as I felt the first time I realized that my dreams were normal and I could have been everything I wanted no matter my gender.
Lindsey commented on :
I think Angela Saini (an award winning independent science journalist) said it best once, “In the history of science, we have to hunt for the women – not because they weren’t capable of doing research, but because for a large chunk of time they didn’t have the chance. We’re still living with the legacy of an establishment that’s just beginning to recover from centuries of entrenched exclusion and prejudice.” There is still much to overcome that is genderless to achieve equality through diversity, so every voice and platform matters.
This platform provides a unique opportunity for both the scientists and students to have an open discussion built on authenticity and pure curiosity, that’s why I enjoy it. No question too big or too small. If I can encourage or provide constructive feedback to even just one student, then it was all worth it for me.