Cell-ebrating Women in STEM
On Friday, March 31, the Society of Women Engineers (SWENext) club hosted its annual Women in STEM Career Day. The event, which took place in the South Cafeteria during the morning, was open to all students and featured speakers, trivia, and group activities.
The more than 60 attendees heard from Sophie Clarke, Julia Chung, Jennifer Braggin, and Wendy Feldstein—four women who are currently pursuing careers in STEM. The four women were at different points in their careers and education and shared their experiences.
For students currently exploring careers in STEM, hearing each speaker’s unique journey offered reassurance: “I know some of the women there changed their like job or company multiple times so it kind of like gave me a sense of like comfort [and] relief because I was like ‘Okay, it’s all gonna work out in the end,'” said Krystal Kymn, a SWENext member who attended and helped organize the event.
SWENext advisor Nicole Hodgson hopes that the presenters showed students the diversity of options for careers in STEM and the importance of self-discovery in choosing a career field: “I think that the speakers are positive role models for the students and hopefully they influenced them to take the path for their future that is made up of their choices alone,” said Hodgson.
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Clarke, an NVOT alum and sophomore at Carnegie Mellon University double majoring in Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering, spoke first and discussed the current research she does in college and how her experiences in high school shaped her interest in STEM. For Clarke, the most difficult part of her journey so far has been keeping herself going and as she said, “[finding] the motivation within myself to preserve and continue forward.”
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Chung, a first-year firmware engineer and NVOT alumni, highlighted the key skills needed to be successful in the field and shared what she does as a firmware engineer. Some of the skills that Chung emphasized were solving problems, having curiosities, working in teams, and handling conflict. Chung offered students advice based on her own journey: “It is okay to fail sometimes, it’s okay to get a C on your test, don’t give up, explore the passions you have.”
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Braggin, a lecturer at Tufts University and Director of Technology for semiconductor filtration company Entegris, Inc, discussed her experiences breaking into the semiconductor industry and the lessons she learned along the way. Though Braggin’s career focus is mainly on semiconductor manufacturing fields, she emphasized the role all careers in STEM have in improving society and highlighted the importance of taking advantage of opportunities to get experience.
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Wendy Feldstein, the Vice President of Design at Crestron Electronics, shared her journey working in the male-dominated electronics industry and the projects she leads at Crestron Electronics. For Feldstein, sharing her career experience with high school students, especially young women, was important because she believes that as long as “you can see it you can be it.” She takes pride in helping other people learn about the STEM fields and tries to make STEM more approachable: “I always tell the interns the only dumb question: the one you didn’t ask. The only bad suggestion: the one you didn’t give,” Feldstein said.
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