As National Women’s Day approaches on March 8th, CEC wants to celebrate the women in our college that are helping pave the way for females in STEM. We talked with two students about their experiences of being a female in STEM, and the importance of cultivating this career path for other women!

As you may know, women are the minority in STEM related careers, and STEM seems to pose a sigma of being a male-dominated field. I interviewed Natalie Bukovec, junior chemical engineering major, and Shauna Weiss, senior software engineering major, about why they believe in the importance of females in STEM.

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“It is important for women to get into STEM fields because women should be aware that they have the same capabilities to develop science and mathematics hard skills as men do,” states Bukovec. Women are constantly undermined in STEM professions, but they need to eliminate this stigma in order for women to achieve much in this career path.

“Women bring a different perspective to the conversation, shedding light on new and unique approaches to a problem that may otherwise be left in the dark,” explained Weiss. Diverse organizations have been seen to be more productive and make better decisions than homogeneous teams. Women allow for this diversity to shine, and new ideas to be formed.

When cultivating their own paths in STEM-related fields, both Bukovec and Weiss have had many experiences that helped solidify their decisions to pursue STEM degrees.

Bukovec was encouraged to pursue this path of STEM by seeing both her mother and older sister succeed in this typically male dominated field. Watching other women succeed encouraged her to choose this path as well. Weiss felt most connected with this decision when she came to Miami and joined ACM-W (Association of Computing and Machinery for Women). Before joining this organization, Weiss felt very alone and unsure of her decision to pursue a STEM field. Once she joined she felt empowered by her decision to choose a STEM major.   

Both of these stories are impactful, and further emphasize the importance of women in STEM. Women allow new ideas and perspectives on different problems that can lead to more problems solved and new ideas formed. CEC hopes on this international women’s day that you reflect on the importance of women, and the amazing things women can accomplish, and are accomplishing, in STEM.

After Miami, Bukovec hopes to pursue a career in pharmaceuticals, and have a career that highlights the chemistry and biochemistry side of chemical engineering. After her graduation this spring, Weiss will be working for Disney Streaming Services as an Associate Software Engineer.

By Maggie Cavanaugh, CEC Communications Reporter