Welcome to the Innovation Lab: Women in STEM
This article is part of our Spring/Summer 2020 print issue. See the full, digital version of the issue here.
Illustration by Mary Buzby.
Think that being an art major is the only way to unleash your creativity? Think again.
Caroline Johnston ’21, Savannah Kile ’21, Morgan Blasetto ’21, Paige Minsky ’22 and Angy Aguilar ’22 are all powerfully driven and impressively intelligent students. That’s not even the coolest thing about them. Not only are these powerful women pursuing studies in STEM, but they’re challenging the traditional stereotypes that have historically characterized the field.
When most of us think of STEM, we can’t help but quiver at the thought of the challenging, yet monotonous, “two-plus-two-equals-four” curriculum that requires hours of studying and results in countless late nights. Therefore, the thought of science as a creative outlet seems nothing short of laughable for many of us.
Despite popular opinion, math and science aren’t just impossible classes chock-full of division and covalent bonds. All areas of study allow for creativity and can be fascinating in their own light. That’s right, even the ones anchored in math and science. Just like the arts, STEM allows the freedom to be creative and interpretive.
“I think that a lot of people have this perceived image of STEM that prompts them to believe that they cannot use their creativity in the field, which is completely not the case,” said Aguilar, a computer science major.
The STEM community is one that is constantly evolving. It has driven both scientific exploration and societal development for years, and it is what allows us to adapt to the ever-changing world around us. Whether that means addressing the onset of a novel virus, producing electric cars that decrease carbon emissions or designing the next smartphone, STEM is an overwhelming part of our everyday life.
“The scientific community is changing everyday around the world,” public health major Blasetto said. “We, as individuals under that umbrella, are constantly having to adapt to social, political and economic changes.”
For Aguilar, STEM is a crucial component in adapting to the modern world, especially one driven by technology. “Technology is constantly changing and evolving. Computer scientists are constantly learning and seeking new knowledge and skills,” Aguilar said. “To grow in this industry, we must be open and committed to expanding our knowledge. Learning is a two-way street, where you must be willing to share what you do know as you learn what you don’t.”
Illustration by Mary Buzby.
In order for the field to keep growing, it is crucial that negative stereotypes surrounding STEM’s supposed mundane nature are finally put to rest. That’s exactly what these women are doing. The common misconception that STEM is boring and tedious is just that—a misconception. In fact, the growth of the industry can only be attributed to the creatives that push it forward.
“STEM is where a lot of the world’s growth comes from due to its continuous ability to shape people who think both critically and creatively,” Johnston said.
By challenging misconceptions and ruling out stereotypes, these women are proving that STEM is just as creative as any other field. In fact, being creative isn’t even an option. It’s a requirement. According to Blasetto, creativity is the foundation for all scientific innovation and advancement. She said that majoring in public health has only enriched her love for art and design, and vice versa.
“A lot of times, I think that people see fields like science and art as being polar opposites but for me, I think my love for art has perfectly intersected with my love for science,” Blasseto said. “Art is a great escape for me when life becomes too stressful, and I think that is why I am able to find so much joy in my science classes.”
Blasetto isn’t the only one who has found a serendipitous crossroads at which her studies and non-academic passions intersect. “In my time, I have found that the ability to combine my passion for photography and drawing with the field I love has been extremely helpful in my learning,” said Johnston.
Creativity, however, looks different across STEM’s many disciplines. For Minsky, whose studies focus on mathematics, computer science and data science, creativity includes problem-solving and critical thinking.
“Math and computer science can be creative in many ways,” Minsky said. “Math majors can create reports based on areas or topics that are deemed as interesting to the student, along with creating websites in computer science that are appealing and functional to users.”
Biochemistry major Kile and biology major Johnston, however, found that creativity translates almost directly to “experimentation” and “hands-on learning” in their respective disciplines.
“What's really neat about being a biochemistry major is that I can take the questions that I have in class and actually attempt to answer them through hands-on lab experiences,” Kile said. “Biochemistry is a very interactive field of study. There are a ton of hands on lab practice and a ton of peer and mentor collaboration.”
Johnston’s experience with research and hands-on experimentation mirrors that of Kile’s in the fact that it excites her. She even finds that the best place to unleash her creativity is in the place where all the magic happens: the lab.
Illustration by Mary Buzby.
“The most exciting part is being able to work hands-on with the organisms and apply information you are learning,” Johnston said. “In a lot of STEM classes, professors recognize that the content may lack creativity, and so they allow for personal exploration through student-based projects.”
Some of those projects even include making candles, isolated proteins, nylon and even aspirin, Kile said. “While some of the labs are set out for us, there is a lot of room for us to create our own experiments and/or add our own creative twist to them.”
Not only are these women disqualifying STEM’s stereotype of being a “bore,” but they’re also pushing tradition aside and taking the historically male-dominated field by storm.
Increasing the amount of women in the field allows for greater diversity, and with that comes a wide array of new perspectives and ways of approaching a problem. Thanks to women such as these, young girls will recognize their importance and impact in the field of STEM.
“It is important for young girls to know that this field can be full of strong, powerful and intellectual women along with men,” Minsky said.
With both creative women and men at the forefront of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the field of STEM is truly unstoppable.