Share your STEM Story and Expand Pathways for K-12 Students around the World

For my Share Your STEM Story and Expand Pathways for K-12 Students around the World Project, I created a series teaching students in K-12 about various STEM careers and opportunities. I launched my series on the educational platform Belouga for students to view, participate, and learn. I recorded some videos of myself sharing my own personal story regarding my STEM career, and created a short motivational quiz as well as a slideshow displaying various STEM careers. The challenge that my project addressed is the challenge of grade school students feeling discouraged from going into STEM careers. When I was younger, I felt discouraged from entering a STEM field in college because of numerous potential obstacles. Thankfully some role models encouraged me to enter a STEM field in college landing me in the position I am in today. I hope to serve as a role model to students who were in my position and are feeling hesitant about entering a STEM field. As a result of my project, students can learn about different opportunities within STEM and have more confidence about entering a STEM field. In a broader sense, students who view my series may become interested in a STEM field that they were not previously interested in, which would result in a significant amount of students becoming interested in STEM and new discoveries could be made around the world. The biggest takeaway from this project is all the skills I’ve developed along the way because I will use these skills throughout my career at UB to find success. I think that other students should get involved in projects like this because of the meaning and impact it will have on other people. It may not seem like much to the student that is pursuing the project, but the project can have a tremendous impact on one’s life.