We need more women in STEM — but only if they want to be

This Women’s History Month, I want to honor my elementary school teacher, mentor and friend, Nancy Stoudt. In the 14 years I had the privilege of knowing her, she never stopped encouraging me to be a writer. From teaching me how to write a paragraph in under five minutes when I was only in fifth grade to showing me the true picture of courage as she battled cancer for years, Mrs. Stoudt was, and continues to be, an inspiration to me.

When I told her I was majoring in astronautical engineering at USC, she looked at me with a twinkle in her eye that said she knew I was meant to be doing something else. And in my sophomore year of college when she passed away, I knew she was right.

My entire family consists of pharmacists and engineers, so STEM seemed like the only career option to me. Despite fostering a love for reading and writing my whole life, I decided that I had to be an engineer because I felt that any alternative would disappoint everyone.

But when Mrs. Stoudt died, things changed. I was unhappy with my choice of major for a while, but I doubted my ability to be successful outside of STEM. Suddenly, it was like I could hear her telling me that she believed in me, that life is short and I should do what makes me happy. So I gathered my courage and made a huge decision — switching my major to English.

While my parents and sister were supportive of my choice, even telling me that they always knew it was what I would end up doing, not everyone was as kind as my immediate family.

I felt judged by my extended family, friends who remained in engineering and even neighbors and family friends from home. I felt like these people no longer saw me as intelligent or good enough — and that feeling has not gone away despite my accomplishments in my chosen field.

I am fed up with people’s dramatic expressions of disappointment and the bombardments of “What are you going to do with an English degree?” when I tell them about the change.

In talking with Grace Miedziak, a junior majoring in composition, she said she has had a similar experience switching from pursuing STEM to the arts.

“The adults around me were always pushing like, ‘If you’re smart, you should go into something really challenging,’ you know, not like ‘If you’re smart, you can do whatever you want,” Miedziak said.

Miedziak also said that while she appreciates encouragement for women in STEM, there is a difference between encouragement and pressure. Encouragement is showing women that they can do whatever they want; pressure is telling them that they need to pursue STEM to prove their intelligence or be successful.

“Just because maybe it’s a more unconventional path doesn’t mean that it’s not an amazing path,” Miedziak said. “We should celebrate women doing what makes them happy and not just save that celebration for when they choose to go into STEM.”

Shelby Wu, a junior majoring in industrial and systems engineering, spoke of the importance of doing what makes you happy, no matter what field of study that may be.

“At the end of the day, if you really don’t enjoy STEM, don’t try and force yourself to pursue it,” Wu said. “However, if you really do like STEM, I think it’s a great place that is starting to have more social change … [and it makes you] understand your value as [a] woman in STEM because of the different perspective you can give.”

To everyone struggling to fit into the “women in STEM” mold, don’t feel like you need to in order to be successful. You are worthy of admiration and respect for doing whatever you choose.

And to Mrs. Stoudt, thank you for giving me the courage to do what I love.