How A Trip To The Movies May Be The Start Of A STEM Career Path

“Hidden Figures”, the Oscar-nominated, box office success, tells the story of three black women who helped NASA make space exploration history in 1962. It also shows how they did so despite the difficulties of working in a profession dominated by white males during the Civil Rights Movement. The film follows the work of mathematician and physicist Katherine Johnson, mathematician Dorothy Vaughan, and mathematician and aerospace engineer Mary Jackson, while bringing to light the challenges faced by women and people of color in science, engineering, and technology fields. It has been described as powerful, but its impact extends to more than just the entertainment industry. The visualization of Johnson’s, Vaughan’s, and Jackson’s experiences could be having an important ripple effect for young people ready to break into STEM fields. Now organizations and programs are lining up to welcome them. Boosting Bachelors Degrees In Engineering “Hidden Figures” has inspired responses from STEM educators and professionals across the United States. In Dayton Ohio, the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and The Boeing Company hosted a “Hidden Figures Mixer and Power Panel Discussion” on Feb 23rd at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. The recent event was part of a larger, ongoing nationwide campaign to raise the annual average of African-American graduates with a bachelor’s degree in engineering. Through a ten year plan, the NSBE is working to boost 2014’s count of 3,501 engineering graduates to 10,000 by the year 2025. Screenings for students are also being publicized from St. Louis Public Schools and Milwaukee Public Schools. Image Source: Fox6 Now Addressing Systemic Obstacles The National Girls Collaborative (NGC) is using the obstacles shown in “Hidden Figures” to address systemic problems that have prevented more girls and young women from following a STEM based academic path. As detailed in a recent Forbes article from Noodle Pros., NGC’s networks are looking at ways that role models, teachers, mentors can do more to encourage students, male and female, to apply their skills to STEM, and also clearing longstanding hinderances and misconceptions on mathematic and science aptitude in female students.    Image Source: Forbes

Today’s STEM Students Relate  At the University Of Washington, women like Uloma Orkoro, an electrical engineering student, Tesewone Melaku, a senior in the Human Centered Design and Engineering program, and Naomi Zemeadin, a member of the university’s NSBE chapter, have voiced the ways they relate to the stories told in “Hidden Figures”, particularly with regard to the film’s message of perseverance in the face of discouraging professional norms. [embed]https://youtu.be/iFKqB7JP9Us[/embed] A New Generation, Ready To Contribute In the Seattle Times article discussing their reactions to the film, Naomi Zemeadin said that the lack of minority women representation in STEM is a big reason why more girls and young women of color don’t pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Getting a chance to see minority women make history using STEM based skills may be an inspiration for viewers young and old, but it could also represent a significant change for a generation that’s ready to see themselves make major contributions to scientific and technological leaps forward for the U.S. What are your thoughts on the ripple effect of a movie like “Hidden Figures”? Do you think more stories of STEM heroes like Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson need to be told? Comment and share your thoughts.   Article Sources http://www.seattletimes.com https://www.forbes.com http://wdtn.com http://fox6now.com http://www.ksdk.com  

How A Trip To The Movies May Be The Start Of A STEM Career Path is courtesy of http://www.magoda.com/