IGNITE Panels at Nathan Hale High School

 

December 11, 2019 | IGNITE Panels at Nathan Hale High School Unity in the Community Event | By Charlotte L.

On December 11th, Nathan Hale High School hosted two IGNITE Women in Tech panels at their annual Unity in the Community event. The sessions inspired and encouraged girls and non-binary students at Hale to take STEM-related classes at school and pursue a non-traditional career in STEM!

17 girls attended the first session, led by Charlotte L., IGNITE Student Representative, with panelist Ola Amayri, professor at DigiPen Institute of Technology. Students learned about IGNITE, how they can get involved at Hale, and the importance of more women going into the STEM fields. They learned that these careers are in high demand and that companies want to hire THEM! We listened to our speaker’s inspirational journey through school and into her career today. Students enjoyed her success story as a determined and confident woman working her way through her male-dominated career field, and they were interested to learn how the passion she found in technology led her to a gratifying job in teaching. Students also had the chance to ask her questions and receive advice on how to get started now to work toward a super successful career in STEM.

11 girls attended a second session, led by Charlotte and with panelist Eva Tseng, Senior Marketing Manager at T-Mobile. Students learned information about IGNITE and the importance of and opportunity in being a woman pursuing a STEM career. Our panelist Eva shared her story of growing up in Taiwan and her career journey when she moved to the U.S. She shared her love for working with people and how she incorporated that with the STEM field. Students were excited to learn how advertising and marketing are fun and creative careers within STEM fields! Eva shared advice, not only to pursue a STEM career, but for life: She shared how to create your own personal brand, how to be a good listener in the workplace, and how bringing a positive attitude and open mind is the most important thing in life. Students had the chance to ask questions and seek advice from Eva as well.

Students left the panels with a renewed and widened interest in STEM, a willingness and excitement to continue taking STEM-related classes, and most importantly, a new door wide open for the possibility of pursuing a STEM career in the future.

Thank you to Ola Amayri and Eva Tseng for volunteering your time and sharing your stories to inspire girls and non-binary students at Nathan Hale!

 

After attending this event:

75%

of girls/non-binary students are more interested in STEM

75%

of girls/non-binary students want to study harder to attend college and further their education

Here's what the students enjoyed most:

 

"The highlight was definitely getting to hear the personal story of a woman in STEM, more specifically a woman of color. I was really inspired to see someone with a similar background as me. It instills more confidence in myself."

- 11th grade

 

"Highlights were try again until you can improve something you are working on, more logical thinking, be more open-minded. This event inspired me to see if I want a STEM related job - learn more on the engineering or mathematical aspect."

- 10th grade

 

"I enjoyed the speaker talking about her life journey. It was inspiring to hear how she persevered through her obstacles and became successful."

- 9th grade

 

"I thought it was cool that the panelist's hard work really paid off and she got an amazing scholarship, which is really motivating."

- 9th grade

 

"The fact that all STEM careers are related is very interesting. I think it just shows how STEM careers are so important."

- 9th grade

 

"It was interesting to hear about how important it is to be able to be confident in what you know and what you bring to the table."

- 12th grade

 

"I liked hearing her journey to a career that satisfied her. It shows that things can be achieved with hard work."

- 9th grade

 

"I was inspired by the way the panelist talked about engineering."

- 11th grade

 

"The panel was really positive and passionate."

- 11th grade

 

"I enjoyed the learning and hearing from an older person's perspective."

- 9th grade

 

"Hearing how the speaker figured out what she wanted to do as her job. I'm still planning on having a STEM major!"

- 12th grade

 

"I enjoyed the speaker, she was very inspiring and powerful."

- 12th grade

 

"How many STEM opportunities there are."

- 9th grade

 

"It was good to hear about how someone got to where they are. It gives you an idea of how to get to your goal."

- 10th grade