Panel at Truman High School

October 14, 2019 | IGNITE Panel at Truman High School | by Shawnte Garrett 

On October 14, Truman High hosted an IGNITE Women in STEM panel to inspire, educate, and encourage young women about the opportunities in STEM and how women are getting more involved, interested, and excited about the field of STEM. 

14 students attended and heard from four amazing women in STEM. They learned that age has no boundaries, nor does it justify an entrance or exit date for women to be a Front-End Software Engineer. They learned a women can take a plant and use it to make plastics. They were inspired by a woman who worked as a retail manager but wanted more for herself, despite knowing she only had a two year degree, and a woman who just graduated from college and uprooted herself for a new job and life in a new city. 

The panelists who shared their STEM career journeys were: 

• Harmony Hames, Front-End Software Engineer at REI
• Leslie Pedro, Software Engineer at Upbound
• Amy Ansel, Founder of Titan Hemp and Titan Bioplastics
• Shanell Powell, Program Manager at Microsoft

The panelists shared their stories of how their roads to STEM had challenges and setbacks, how they were determined to continue with their passions, and how they enjoyed what they do. The young women at Truman participated in table conversations, where they got some one-on-one time with each of the panelists. During this time, there were many fruitful conversations and engaging questions asked. The young women heard the panelists say to make a plan for your purpose, find out what your strengths are, velcro yourself to positive people, and if you enjoy solving puzzles, STEM is where you need to be! 

Thank you, Amy, Harmony, Leslie, and Shanell for giving our young women a new purpose to explore, get excited about, and pursue. Your stories inspired these young ladies to look at options they never realized existed. Having the table conversations and that one-on-one time with you was magical for the young ladies who were shy. It empowered them to see what confidence looks likes. Your transparency let them know we all have setbacks and struggle; however, those are used to make us better and to shine bright like diamonds. You ladies made today an unforgettable moment for our young women at Truman!