USC alumna advocates for representation in STEM

When USC alumna Dora Gerardo first set foot on campus, she was struck by the lack of representation in her peers at the Viterbi School of Engineering.

“Seeing the lack of representation even at USC, though I live 15 minutes away, was interesting – to be the only person that looks like me,” Gerardo said. “I think that says a lot, and it was something that I wanted to changed. For me, I was fortunate enough to have the teacher tell me, ‘Hey, you’re good at this!’ and I wanted to turn that into a large-scale thing.”

Gerardo helped start an annual STEM conference for elementary and high school girls during her junior year at USC. She said the goal of the conference is to teach young women from an early age that they have the ability to go to college and pursue degrees in fields like science and engineering.

Out of her four siblings, Gerardo was the first to graduate from college. Her parents immigrated from Mexico when they were just teenagers, and she grew up in Lynwood, Calif., about 10 miles away from USC.

“My school district was in the inner city, so we’re pretty limited in resources,” Gerardo said. “When I went down to USC, I realized that I was in a great position to do something about it in the sense of being able to expose people to things. That was where it started.”

At USC, Gerardo studied mechanical engineering. She got involved with events like Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day and participated in the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers, but said she wanted to motivate students further through the conference.

“I think there is a lack of exposure, a lack of motivation, and not enough people telling younger girls that they are capable doing these things,” Gerardo said. “I think exposure is something that needs to be done very early on and continue up into high school. It can’t just be something you mention, it has to be something you reinforce.”

Paul Ronney, an aerospace and mechanical engineering professor and Gerardo’s first undergraduate engineering professor, recalls Gerardo as an inspiration.

“The way that I remember [Gerardo] very specifically is that while she was a freshman, she invited me to join her for her lunch with the Norman Topping Scholars,” Ronney said. “[Gerardo] made me realize that USC is having a big effect on these students … I am prouder of my role with Dora than my role with students with every advantage because they would’ve done well no matter what with their opportunities and advantages. Dora didn’t have those.”

Along with Gerardo’s work, Viterbi has made an effort to increase representation in STEM programs at USC. While nationally only 19 percent of engineering students are women, Viterbi’s 2017 admitted class was made up of 44 percent women. Within the same class, 24 percent were minority students and 13 percent were first-generation students.

One of Viterbi’s numerous initiatives, the Viterbi STEM Educational Outreach Program aims to encourage historically and educationally disadvantaged K-12 students within the Southern California community to pursue majors in STEM fields.

“I think a big thing is to get the students we work with to really see they can be scientists and engineers,” said Rochelle Urban, associate director of Viterbi STEM EOP. “That’s both being exposed to USC students that look like them as well as famous scientists and engineers. It’s also about giving them not just the interest but also really helping them get to the level they need to be able to succeed at USC or any other institution in STEM.”