About
History
WiSTEM was founded in July 2020 by a group of women who felt that Illinois Tech lacked a community of women in STEM. They wanted to create such a community on campus and encourage more these populations to pursue studies in STEM related majors.
Meet the Board!
Co- president
Ellie Kindseth
Ellie Kindseth is a fourth-year Electrical Engineering major. She is the President of the Camras Scholars Program and a general body member of SWE.
Contact: ekindseth@hawk.iit.edu
Co- president
Grace Weick
Grace Weick is a third-year Biomedical Engineering major. She is a Camras Scholar and a general body member of BMES.
Contact: gweick@hawk.iit.edu
Treasurer
Kaylee Rosendahl
Kaylee Rosendahl is a fourth-year Applied Mathematics and Computer Science coterminal student . She is a Camras scholar, a member of SIAM, and a TA in the AMAT department.
Contact: krosendahl@hawk.iit.edu
Treasurer
Virginia Reider
Virginia Reider is a second-year Mathematics major. She is also a member of SIAM, FEM, and ACMW.
Contact: vreider@hawk.iit.edu
Digital Media Officer
Kenzie Tokuchi
Kenzie Tokuchi is a third-year Architecture major. She is a member of IIT Arquitectos, the Women's Soccer Team, and a TA in the Applied Mathematics department.
Contact: ktokuchi@hawk.iit.edu
Events Manager
Valerie Lending
Valerie Lending is a third-year Mechanical Engineering major. She is a member of the Cross Country and Track and Field Team.
Contact: vlending@hawk.iit.edu
Representatives Manager
Kelly Hitchcock
Kelly Hitchcock is a fourth-year Mechanical Engineering major. She is a general body member of ASME and a player on Illinois Tech's women's soccer team.
Contact: khitchcock@hawk.iit.edu
Advisor
Elizabeth Karagiannes
Elizabeth Karagiannes is a fifth-year Aerospace Engineering major and Computer Science minor. She is an I&T Mechanical Intern at Northrop Grumman Space Systems, a TA in the CS Department, and President of Students for Space Exploration and Development/ Rocketry Club.
Contact: ekaragiannes@hawk.iit.edu
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-karagiannes/
Advisor
Tiffany Wong
Tiffany Wong is a fifth-year Computer Science and Math double major. She is also a Camras Scholar, an Engineering City Scholar at Discovery Partners Institute, and a member of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.
Contact: twong10@hawk.iit.edu
Meet our Advisor!
Dr. Nicole Legate
Nicole Legate is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Illinois Institute of Technology. She teaches undergraduate courses in introduction to psychology and a special topics seminar in prejudice and stigma. Her research interests are focused on how the social environment (friends, family, peers, etc.) can support those with a stigmatized identity to buffer against minority stress and its impact on health, but also how the social environment can thwart these individuals and contribute to the mental and physical health disparities gap.
She is excited to be a faculty advisor for WiSTEM because of how this organization is contributing to the Illinois Tech community. She particularly appreciates how the members have used their voices to promote causes that are important to them, in particular, around issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion at Illinois Tech. She is passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion in her research, teaching, her personal activism, and when mentoring students. She loves the mission of WiSTEM to promote women and gender minorities in STEM, and their focus on promoting inclusion of historically excluded individuals at Illinois Tech and in STEM.
Meet our Representatives!
Electrical Engineering
Sarah Thomas
Sarah Thomas is a third-year Electrical Engineering major. She is a member of the Women's Soccer Team.
Contact: sthomas16@hawk.iit.edu
Biomedical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Carolina Chang Carballo
Carolina Chang Carballo is a third-year Civil Engineering major who is also minoring in Business. She is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Society of Women Engineers, and the Female Empowerment Club.
Contact: cchangcarballo@hawk.iit.edu
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolina-chang-carballo-a4aa0321b/
Biology
Shriya Avula
Shriya Avula is a second-year Biology major. She is also a Camras Scholar and a member of IIT EMS and AMSA.s
Contact: savula@hawk.iit.edu
Computer Science
Mechanical Engineering
Ayden Greene
Ayden Greene is a third-year Mechanical Engineering major.
Contact: agreene2@hawk.iit.edu
Architecture
Mackenzie Nelson
Mackenzie Nelson is a second-year Architecture major.
Contact: mnelson21@hawk.iit.edu
Information Technology and Management
Ana Rosiles
Ana Rosiles is a second-year Information Technology and Management major.
Contact: arosiles@hawk.iit.edu
Aerospace Engineering
Aimee Wucherer
Aimee Wucherer is a second-year Aerospace Engineering major.
Contact: awucherer1@hawk.iit.edu
Chemical Engineering
Aigerim Dzhumanazarova
Aigerim Dzhumanazarova is a second-year Chemical Engineering major.
Contact: adzhumanazarova@hawk.iit.edu
Don't see your major/department? Apply to be a representative here:
Meet our Founders
Barien Gad
Barien Gad is a fourth-year Biochemistry major and Applied Mathematics minor. She is also a Camras Scholar and is currently working to supply free menstrual sanitary products across women and gender neutral restrooms on campus.
Contact: bgad@hawk.iit.edu
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bariengad/
Alisha Khan
Alisha Khan is a fourth-year Computer Science and Data Science co-terminal student. She is also a Camras Scholar.
Contact: akhan92@hawk.iit.edu
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/~alishakhan/
WiSTEM was founded in July 2020 by Barien Gad and Alisha Khan. The founders intended for this organization to be a place in which all persons feel welcome, and hoped to create a support system for one another and foster a network of individuals who will one day work together to bring about a more inclusive and diverse future. The current executive board intends to keep pursuing the founders' mission, ensuring WiSTEM is a safe space for all people on the Illinois Tech campus, and an organization acting for the better, on behalf of the whole student population.