By Manat Kaur
While a STEM education is more important than ever in our tech-driven world, women make up only 28 percent of the U.S. workforce in these fields. Opening up the exciting world of STEM to everyone starts with early exposure and encouragement. Currently, however, just nine percent of girls in the U.S. ages 13–17 say they’re interested in STEM.
17-year-old science-lover Jacqueline Means set out to make STEM both fun and accessible for the girls in her under resourced community by founding the Wilmington Urban STEM Initiative. What began with bake sales and GoFundMe campaigns to fund her idea turned into something much bigger: an initiative that’s impacted more than 1,500 girls.
Ashoka Young Changemaker Manat Kaur spoke with Jacqueline about her changemaker journey, the importance of mentorship, and the key to bouncing back.
Tell us about the Wilmington Urban STEM Initiative.
The Wilmington Urban STEM Initiative, or WUSI, is an organization I founded five years ago that is dedicated to bringing STEM to the underprivileged girls of Wilmington, DE. In the past five years, I’ve been able to positively impact over 1,500 young girls through STEM. Having STEM skills is necessary to thrive in the 21st century, making it imperative that today’s youth is capable and prepared to live in the inevitable STEM-forward future. By leading the girls in fun, and, most importantly, hands-on science experiments, I’m showing them just how exciting STEM can be!
When did you first realize you had to take action, and how did you come up with your idea?
I live in an area of Wilmington where things can be very negative. I see drug dealing and violence, and I want to do my part to better my community and make Southbridge, which has unfortunately been dubbed Murdertown, USA by Newsweek, a better place by combining my two passions: STEM Education and helping others.
I started showing others how amazing STEM is when my turning point came. I witnessed someone no older than myself get gunned down in the street near my home. I knew that I had to offer help in some way. I needed to offer a different picture of what life could be to the young girls in my community who were only getting one image of their potential future, so I founded the Wilmington Urban STEM Initiative.
I came up with WUSI because I have always loved STEM. Ever since I was little, I can remember being absolutely obsessed with chemical reactions, like baking soda and vinegar or mentos and soda, and just loving all things science-y and STEM-related.
What was your first step?
I had a brainstorming session with my mom. I told her I wanted to have multiple interactive and hands-on workshops throughout the year. I decided to call my workshops Girls Empowerment STEM Events and came up with ideas for how to fund everything, like using GoFundMe and bake sales. I felt very eager and excited! While I wasn’t entirely sure what I was doing, I knew I was heading in the right direction by getting started.
How did you start implementing your idea?
For my very first STEM Event, I remember my family and myself waking up at 6:00 a.m. and rushing between my home and the venue, just moving as many supplies as we could as quickly as possible. When we got there, we immediately had to set up all the tables and chairs and then began distributing the supplies to each spot, putting down trays and gloves and goggles and everything the girls would need for the day.
After everything was set up around 9:00 a.m., all the girls started arriving. I had just 35 girls in attendance, which was not quite the 100 that I was hoping for, but I was so happy that even a few had shown up. I knew I could keep working and get more girls. At the event, I made sure each girl got to do her own individual science experiments, which made the day crazy but very fun and very educational. Overall, my first workshop taught me a lot, and I was certainly better prepared for the next one.
What obstacles did you face and how have you overcome them?
I definitely struggled with getting the word out about my events. Another obstacle was trying to get sponsors for things like food, water, etc. I overcame getting the word out by using social media like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter in addition to utilizing my local TV broadcasts to make sure I was reaching as many people as possible. To get sponsors, I wrote up very detailed emails to all the people I was reaching out to and, when possible, met with them in person to explain what I was planning to do.
Who else supported you throughout your journey? What role did they play?
My mom has been just as much a part of my organization’s journey as I have been. And my mentors, Dr. Teri Quinn-Gray, Dr. Joan Coker, and many others have supported me by being speakers at my workshops. Others have supported through sponsorships. Every single one of them has helped the Wilmington Urban STEM Initiative get to where it is today.
What advice would you give to other young people who want to make a difference but don’t know where to begin?
Just get started! Every journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, so get movin’! Don’t stop trying even if you don’t get it right the first time. You must be unstoppable. Being unstoppable means not stopping when you fail. Failure is a necessary step in every journey, and to be unstoppable means to know that it’s okay to get discouraged, and it’s okay to take a step back, but it’s never okay to walk away.
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This article has been edited for length and clarity.
The First Steps series, founded by Ashoka Young Changemaker Manat Kaur, aims to demystify changemaking and show how anyone can start making a change. Follow Ashoka to learn more about #EveryoneAChangemaker and #LeadYoung.