In a lecture hall in East Stroudsburg University\u2019s Science and Technology Center elementary students watched as two household products created an \u201cexplosion\u201d.\u00a0 Their hands sprung up with questions for the four college students standing in front of them explaining chemical reactions. \u201cIs this like a volcano?\u201d \u201cDid you always love science?\u201d \u201cWhat was your favorite thing to do as a kid?\u201d \u201cWhat Harry Potter house do you belong to?\u201d \u201cCan you add chemicals to change the color?\u201d It was February 11, United Nations International Day of Women and Girls in Science, and 50 female students studying science and math at ESU hosted 87 girls from J.M Hill and Notre Dame elementary schools and East Stroudsburg and Notre Dame high schools to join them in celebrating the day.<\/p>\n
Lelia Bouchekouk, a junior from East Stroudsburg majoring in chemistry, was one of three demonstrators for this particular experiment that captivated the elementary school students. \u201cI went to J.M. Hill, I had the same teachers they had, I can relate to these students and they can relate to me!\u201d Bouchekouk said. She believes her earliest interest in science may be linked to joining the environmental club and learning about recycling while a student at J.M. Hill, though she didn\u2019t realize then that it was science.<\/p>\n
Jessica Geiger, a sophomore majoring in physics from East Stroudsburg, Pa. and Morgan Buchter, a senior majoring in biology from Cresco, Pa., volunteered with high school students. For each, being a young woman studying STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) wasn\u2019t always easy. \u201cWhen I was in elementary school there was nothing encouraging girls to go into STEM,\u201d Geiger said. Bouchekouk said she was always the only girl in her advanced math and science classes in high school. Buchter believes it is because of social norms, set generations ago, that women are underrepresented in the sciences.<\/p>\n
Not seeing anyone like you in your classes can be discouraging, which is why ESU hosted such a big event. \u201cSeeing that there are female college students and female faculty, here at ESU, that enjoy being in math and science fields, and who work or study at a walking distance from where these young girls go to school, might make the notion of being a scientist more real to them,\u201d said Maria Soledad Cohen, instructor of physics. Cohen was one of 13 professors who helped get this initiative off the ground. She was joined by those who teach biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, physics, and psychology. \u201cIt is important to show students, female or male, that science is varied,\u201d Cohen said.<\/p>\n
Every field represented created a hands-on experience for the students participating. Geiger, who is planning for a future in aerospace engineering, taught young students about sound waves. Buchter, who has been accepted into the physician assistant program at Salus University upon graduation this spring, set up two very different hands-on labs. \u201cFor the high school students I set up a lung simulation model with water bottles, balloons, and straws. It is a visual way to explain how lungs work, and how the body gets oxygen. We also looked at lung tissues under a microscope and compared what healthy and unhealthy lungs look like.\u201d For the elementary students, Buchter explained \u201cwe made \u2018noodle anatomy.\u2019 They drew a head with a marker on construction paper then used different types of pasta \u2013 penne, bowtie, and elbow \u2013 to create a body. Each type of pasta was used for different sections of the body.\u201d<\/p>\n
Science is the answer to everything, according to ESU\u2019s students. \u201cIt\u2019s how we walk, why things fall, even why it\u2019s better to wear a helmet than not wear one,\u201d said Geiger. \u201cWe kept repeating to the students with us how limitless science is,\u201d according to Bouchekouk. \u201cWhether through medicine, the environment, of countless other ways, science gives us a way to make an impact and better the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bouchekouk said wearing a lab coat and goggles might seem unattractive, and an unpopular choice when you\u2019re in high school, but \u201cto be intelligent is a really beautiful thing.\u201d \u00a0She hopes more young girls will recognize this early in their academic careers. All three students agree, and say young girls shouldn\u2019t be dissuaded from something that interests them because of their gender. \u201cFollow your passion. If you like it, do it,\u201d Buchter said. When a student asked Geiger how she knew she was meant to be in science, Geiger answered, \u201cI told her I don\u2019t know what is meant to be, but I do know this is what I like to do, and what I want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bouchekouk, Buchter, and Geiger all wish days like this had existed when they were younger, and are happy to participate now. They also hope someday it won\u2019t be necessary to host a targeted event for women in science \u2013 someday, they hope being a girl who likes science won\u2019t seem out of the norm.<\/p>\n