Happy International Women's Day!

8/3/2015

My mom got her degree in Chemistry from the University of Nebraska Omaha when my brother and I were kids and we had a pretty amazing childhood because of it! I got to meet Sally Ride; the University's science department and the Omaha Children's Museum were pretty much our playgrounds, and dry ice was as normal a find in our kitchen as milk (for the most part). And my dad has a degree in Biology so we were pretty lucky to have two parents who really encouraged and supported us in our love of science. While I did have the support at home, I felt extremely discouraged in my high school science classes and really struggled with it. I've always thought of myself as more of the liberal arts minded sort but I don't think it helped me at all to label myself, because in college I discovered Feminist Studies that encourages us to explore all fields of study and to examine the connections between them. My senior thesis was a combination of science, legal studies, political science, religion, etc. It was such an empowering experience to deconstruct and consider power dynamics within scientific epistemologies, and to look at the ways all of these studies intersect. I guess my point is that we shouldn't limit ourselves especially when it comes to our education. I was able to fall in love with science all over again because I didn't see it as this field "over there" that was too intimidating for me to understand. When I looked at it from another point of view - from a place that was less intimidating - it really inspired me again and I can totally see why my mother is so in love with it. More girls need to find that love for science and math and I'm hopeful that all the work educators are doing to promote women in STEM fields will really help us to reexamine our approach! Rock on, ladies!

xo Jenavieve