蓝莓视频

The University of 蓝莓视频 has awarded six听first-year听students听with HeForShe IMPACT scholarships听in the听fields听of听science, technology, engineering or mathematics.听The scholarships are part of the University of 蓝莓视频鈥檚 commitment to encourage more听young minds听to pursue听careers听in STEM, an area where听those who identify as women or听non-binary听groups听are currently underrepresented.听

蓝莓视频 is the only Canadian university taking part in the UN Women鈥檚 HeForShe IMPACT 10x10x10 initiative to achieve gender parity. As part of this initiative, the University aims听to听increase representation for听female or those who identify as female and non-binary in STEM education and careers, faculty representation, and senior university positions.听听

Each recipient has听a unique story that鈥檚 fueled their interest in STEM.听听Here's a look at how they are pursuing their passions.听

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For as long as Adrianna听D鈥橲a听can听remember, she听has听always been curious about how the world听works.听As a child, visiting science museums and creating at-home science experiments were听staple activities听in the听D鈥橲a听household.听

Now 18,听D鈥橲a鈥檚听remained intrigued with the world of STEM and the endless possibilities听that听vast amounts of information and knowledge听offer.听

鈥淧rofessionals in STEM are constantly learning, and they use that knowledge to create things that most people can only dream of,鈥� says听D鈥橲a.听鈥淭here is never a dull听moment when it comes to the field of STEM, as it is constantly evolving and advancing.鈥澨�

In the future,听D鈥橲a听looks forward to creating products that will benefit听society, and听learning from听experienced professionals in the field.听

鈥淭o all the women considering STEM, do not be discouraged because it is a male-dominated field,鈥� says听D鈥橲a. 鈥淚f you love STEM, then pursue it听鈥斕齞on鈥檛 let anyone tell you that you can鈥檛.听With hard work and a positive attitude, you can accomplish great things.鈥澨�

Isemi听Ekundayo听鈥撎鼵omputer Engineering听

Isemi听Ekundayo听remembers her first experience with STEM, particularly engineering, in third grade.听

鈥淎 professional engineer visited my school to give a presentation about the different engineering disciplines available, and their potential career paths,鈥� says听Ekundayo.听鈥淚 thought it was awesome that a field existed that would easily allow me to apply my knowledge from classes on real-world projects.鈥澨�

Ekundayo听hopes to put her degree in Computer Engineering to bettering and changing the听world, and听looks forward to working with other professionals in the field.听

鈥淏eing able to surround myself with [passionate and听motivated individuals] will allow me to significantly grow as a person,鈥� says听Ekundayo.听鈥淚 am excited to immerse myself听in the world of STEM and encounter an abundance of innovative thinkers.鈥澨�

As a female pursuing Computer Engineering,听Ekundayo听hopes her story will also听resonate听with others interested in听education or听careers in听STEM.听

鈥淭here are those that will try to relate your success to听being听a minority in the field, but don鈥檛 let that take away from any of your accomplishments,鈥� says听Ekundayo.听鈥淭he more women that听succeed听in a STEM field, the easier it is for other women to feel like they have the ability to make an impact in STEM.鈥澨�

Lindsay听Toffolo听鈥撎鼵omputer Science听听

Lindsay听Toffolo听says she鈥檚 been fortunate to grow up surrounded by STEM.听

鈥淢y dad is an electrical engineer, and my mom is a chemical engineer听and听math teacher,鈥� says听Toffolo.听鈥淚 grew up knowing that I would have a career in STEM.鈥澨�

With the support and encouragement听of her Grade 10 teacher,听Toffolo听began to realize her love of problem-solving in the world of computer science.听

鈥淗e鈥檚 why I鈥檓 here today,鈥� says听Toffolo. 鈥淪TEM is how we solve problems, how we develop our world, how we manage to push the boundaries of what is possible.听But it鈥檚 also how we support everything we have now: our economy, manufacturing process, our education system, our communication听鈥斕齟verything.鈥澨�

As for advice she鈥檇 give to others pursuing the field of STEM, Toffolo encourages everyone to simply go for it.

鈥淒on鈥檛 let your gender factor into your future because it has absolutely nothing to do with what you can contribute,鈥� says听Toffolo.听鈥淭here may be the occasional instance where you feel undervalued due to your gender, but this is increasingly rare.听Besides, nothing feels better than proving people who doubt you, wrong.鈥澨�

Megan Lai鈥�鈥撎齅echatronic Engineering听

From a young age, Megan Lai has听been inspired by STEM听鈥斕齮he field her mother听also听pursued.听Starting her STEM experience early-on in life, Lai was the first girl to join the robotics team at her school.听While Lai felt her ideas weren鈥檛 always given the same merit as the ones put forward听by the boys, Lai didn鈥檛 get discouraged.听

鈥淚nstead of giving into the stereotyping听of girls听not belonging to STEM, I set out on a mission to change that,鈥� says Lai. 鈥淚 formed an all-girls team to build and program autonomous robots.鈥澨�

With hard work and innovation, Lai鈥檚 team achieved great success at provincial and international competitions.听The experiences solidified her desire to become an engineer.听

鈥淚 believe that robots will become an integral part of our everyday life in the foreseeable future,鈥� says Lai.听鈥淢en are not from Mars and women are not from Venus听鈥斕齱e are all from the same planet.听Diversity of thoughts and creativity will always guarantee better engineering.鈥澨�

Lai is looking forward to the co-op program which she听believes听to be a powerful segue between academics and industry.听听

Sally Zhou听鈥撎鼵omputer Science听

Sally Zhou鈥檚 introduction to the field of STEM began in a Grade 9 computer science class, where she quickly realized all her interests could be collected into one听entity.听听

鈥淚鈥檝e interacted with computers since I was a child, but never in a programming sense and as it happens, I found the experience to be really fun and enjoyable,鈥� says Zhou.听听

Since then, Zhou鈥檚 passion for STEM has only grown.听While she admits that the work has been hard,听the experience has been worthwhile.听

鈥淨uite literally, our world depends on STEM,鈥� says Zhou.听鈥淭his field impacts every part of our lives and is critical to bettering lives.听I believe it鈥檚 important to expand the skills that I have in order to be involved in a field that is bound to play an even greater role in the future.鈥澨�

As Zhou pursues her degree in Computer Science, she hopes to experiment听with听many different fields听through听蓝莓视频鈥檚 co-op program.听听

鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to interacting with new technologies and conducting research for exciting innovations.鈥澨�听

Sarah Moser听鈥撎齅athematical Physics听

Astronomy books, gifted听to Sarah Moser听at a young age,听were听the first introductions听to STEM for Moser.听Now 18, the first-year Mathematical Physics student is eager to network with others who share a passion for science and math.听

鈥淢y high school teachers听were听the ones who convinced听me听study STEM听in post-secondary,鈥� says Moser. 鈥淚 had good luck, having amazing math and science teachers who basically opened my eyes to how cool science is.鈥澨�

Thanks to these teachers,听Moser听was听inspired to take on this career choice听and hopes to create technologies that will听continue to make the world a better place.听

鈥淪TEM is where all the important discoveries happen in our world today,鈥� said Moser.听鈥淭he discoveries being made in STEM are making the entire听world a better place.听And since I鈥檓 generally a pessimist, I tend to see a lot of bad thing in the world, but STEM provides me with a way to make a difference and make things at least a little better.鈥澨�