(Courtesy of Guest Blogger Tiffany Moore, HGR Industrial Surplus’ 2016 S.T.E.M. Scholarship)
Science, technology, engineering and math (S.T.E.M.) fields interest me because I like to be challenged. The challenges we face occur mainly because we have to adapt to always-changing technology. When working in some form of S.T.E.M. career, nothing stays the same. One moment you’re building a machine by hand, and the next day a robot could be building it for you. Or, one day you could be configuring an update for the iPhone 6, and a couple of weeks later they come out with an iPhone 7. The possibilities are endless!
That is why I chose to go down the S.T.E.M. path; so, I can later work for some of the top companies or start my own. Also, I would like to make a significant increase in the number of women working in technology. My goal is to raise awareness, through media, about how important it is for women to be involved in the field of computer technology.
In this decade, technology plays a huge role in our everyday lives, and it is essential that we have a solid understanding of how it all works; however, I will need to first further my education by going to college. I am so thankful HGR chose me as its 2016 scholarship recipient. I will be putting the money toward the tuition of the college I’ll be attending in the fall — Ohio Wesleyan.
Thus far, I completed two years of Cisco Academy with Euclid High School. Through this program, I was able to obtain my Microsoft certification. Also, I had an opportunity to visit a Cisco facility and talk to girls about pursuing a S.T.E.M. career path. During the summer, I was fortunate to be a part of an organization called IndeedWeCode. This was a program specifically for African-American females interested in IT. Through this program, I learned how to code and later was able to build an official website for IndeedWeCode. This experience inspired me to encourage more women to get familiar with all aspects of S.T.E.M.
I’ve also had a chance to visit HGR and eat lunch with some of the employees. It was a great feeling seeing that women were very involved with the company. For example, they had their own work stations and specific tasks that were vital to how the company worked. I was inspired to continue my passion for S.T.E.M. and thankful for all the possibilities and opportunities it has shown me over the past two years.