How Clarkstown North Students are Creating a New Generation of Women in STEM

The STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) industry is not doing enough to be inclusive towards people who identify as female or non-binary, various studies have found. Min Sung “Ellie” Kim, a senior at Clarkstown North High School, is trying to change that through her organization She Leads STEM.

This Rockland County-based organization was established in 2021. With an all-female volunteer team, they partnered with Festaville, an afterschool program at Felix Festa Middle School, to lead a STEM Summer Camp. For two weeks, elementary school students participated in activities that taught them about technology, coding and engineering. “I have never been to something like that, that brought science to a regular day camp. And the kids really enjoyed it,” said Kate Mathis, a junior at Clarkstown North High School and She Leads Stem volunteer. 

She Leads Stem has led many other events, such as video conferences with women in STEM professions, STEM workshops and a fundraiser featuring local bands and hands-on, science-related activities. Last December they hosted a virtual event that was attended by people from all over the world. Guest speaker Dr. Thora Maltias, an aerospace engineer who works for NASA, presented. They also have an active blog with articles about women in STEM, some of whom are famous and some of whom are members of our own community here in Rockland County. 

Kim was inspired to found this organization by what she learned through her research project, “An analysis of upper elementary students' attitudes toward STEM: A pilot study,'' done for Science Research class. Her research revealed that there are plenty of gendered stereotypes that prevent girls from expressing interest in STEM. 

She cited studies that showed that these stereotypes impact how young students perceive scientists. 

“When students were asked to draw a scientist, there were only 28 pictures of a female scientist out of 4,807 and all of these 28 drawings were drawn by girls (9-12 years),” Kim wrote in her research paper about one study done. From her own research interviewing elementary schoolers about their interest in STEM and their confidence in their abilities, she concluded that, “To help foster students’ confidence and interest in pursuing STEM careers, math and science should be taught using real-life examples and more diverse role models should be introduced.”

Her goal is to foster a love of STEM in future generations and make fun, hands-on activities accessible for youth in Rockland County, especially young girls. The skills learned through these activities are developing the future generation of scientists, engineers and more who will be vital when it comes to advancing human society and dealing with the arising problems in our world. 

The She Leads STEM team works hard to support this goal. There are about 25 members of this team who write articles for the blog, lead workshops, plan fun activities and more. “It empowers girls and not only gets people involved in science, but other community activities,” said Mathis. To learn more about them and find ways to help their mission, check out their website at www.sheleadssteminc.org/.