Latest / Divas That Care Network / Bridging the STEM Gender Gap
Transcript
- 0:01SPEAKER_01: Blog Talk Radio They're such an inspiration to myself and to all of our listeners that have listened to their other programs.
- 0:37SPEAKER_01: And so if you've just tuned in for the very first time, I know that today's guest is going to inspire you.
- 0:42SPEAKER_01: She's absolutely brilliant.
- 0:43SPEAKER_01: And the things that she's doing is inspiring so many girls today.
- 0:47SPEAKER_01: And...
- 0:49SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'd like you to check out her other call on thedivasatcare.com where we do all of our recordings.
- 0:56SPEAKER_01: Our program, if you've just tuned in for the very first time, has been running now for nine years.
- 1:00SPEAKER_01: We're actually going into our 10th season.
- 1:03SPEAKER_01: in 2020.
- 1:03SPEAKER_01: And we've got a lot of great things that are going to be taking place.
- 1:06SPEAKER_01: We're going to be, you know, launching a brand new series of books coming out, which is our Young Divas That Care, inspired by these young ladies that have been on our program.
- 1:16SPEAKER_01: So that's one of the reasons why we wanted to reintroduce this diva that we're going to be having on today's program.
- 1:23SPEAKER_01: So today's guest is Megan Lowe.
- 1:25SPEAKER_01: And I am so, so excited to have you back, Megan.
- 1:28SPEAKER_01: Welcome back.
- 1:30SPEAKER_01: Thank you so
- 1:30SPEAKER_02: much, Candice.
- 1:31SPEAKER_02: I'm so excited to be here.
- 1:34SPEAKER_01: Well, I'm excited to have you.
- 1:37SPEAKER_01: But, you know, what we'll do to start the show off, Megan, is could you reintroduce yourself to our listeners today?
- 1:46SPEAKER_02: Awesome, yes.
- 1:48SPEAKER_02: So I am Megan, and I'm a high school senior from Fullerton, California.
- 1:54SPEAKER_02: Super sunny over here right now.
- 1:57SPEAKER_02: And I am a STEM and gender activist.
- 2:00SPEAKER_02: And I've engaged in several initiatives to bridge the gender gap in STEM, especially providing STEM opportunities to under-resourced girls.
- 2:09SPEAKER_02: So a lot of the activities that I participate in really revolve around that.
- 2:14SPEAKER_02: So I founded my international nonprofit organization, Gear Up for Youth, a youth-led social venture to bridge the gender gap in 2015.
- 2:26SPEAKER_02: And really, it's to fight the gender stereotype and to be able to show girls that anyone can do technology and STEM as long as they believe.
- 2:36SPEAKER_02: Alongside that...
- 2:38SPEAKER_02: I was invited to pioneer an international startup organization called Girls in Science for Sustainable Development Goals, which is an initiative by the United Nations, and we present gender equality solutions to the UN.
- 2:58SPEAKER_02: And last but not least, I've actually authored and contributed to three books, including the Young Divas That Care book, which we're going to be talking about today.
- 3:08SPEAKER_02: Oh
- 3:10SPEAKER_01: my gosh, that is amazing, Megan.
- 3:13SPEAKER_01: And I just want to kind of go back.
- 3:15SPEAKER_01: The new thing that you're doing is with the United Nations.
- 3:18SPEAKER_01: Can you tell me a little bit about that?
- 3:20SPEAKER_01: Because I had not heard about that before.
- 3:23SPEAKER_01: Yes, of course.
- 3:24SPEAKER_02: So actually last year, I was invited to speak at the United Nations on February 11th, which is the International Day for Women and Girls in Science.
- 3:36SPEAKER_02: And during that talk...
- 3:39SPEAKER_02: So I was talking about how I used my organization to be able to inspire the younger generation, especially in at-risk communities.
- 3:48SPEAKER_02: And actually, at that day, at the meeting, I met Her Royal Highness Princess Dr.
- 3:56SPEAKER_02: Nisreen El-Hashimayi.
- 3:59SPEAKER_02: And she's an actual princess, which is really cool.
- 4:01SPEAKER_02: I was so excited to be able to meet her.
- 4:03SPEAKER_02: Wow.
- 4:05SPEAKER_02: And she actually was the one who invited me to help her pioneer this international organization.
- 4:12SPEAKER_02: So what we are is a group of young female leaders all around the world, and we work together.
- 4:18SPEAKER_02: to collaborate, to create solutions to these issues that our world needs.
- 4:24SPEAKER_02: And you know that diversity of opinion is really what we need in today's world.
- 4:30SPEAKER_02: And the United Nations really values those opinions.
- 4:33SPEAKER_02: So we're there to provide that to them.
- 4:35SPEAKER_02: And not only that, we want to be able to educate the public about the Sustainable Development Goals.
- 4:44SPEAKER_02: Kansas, have you actually heard about the Sustainable Development Goals?
- 4:48SPEAKER_01: Why don't you tell me about them?
- 4:51SPEAKER_02: So the Sustainable Development Goals of 2030 are the goals developed by the United Nations that we want to be able to achieve in the next 10 years.
- 5:02SPEAKER_02: They include stuff like equality in education, gender equality, no hunger, no poverty, and these are the real huge issues in our society that we want to fix.
- 5:17SPEAKER_02: I love it.
- 5:19SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 5:20SPEAKER_02: As girls, we want to be able to tell the story general populace how important the sustainable development goals are, and we also want to be able to relate to them.
- 5:33SPEAKER_02: So we actually have a website where we upload articles and we create them, where not only do we do research on our specific subjects, but we also input our own ideas and our own experiences in order to connect the sustainable development goals into a language and experience that the populace can relate to and understand.
- 5:57SPEAKER_01: You have been a busy girl.
- 6:02SPEAKER_01: Oh, my goodness.
- 6:03SPEAKER_01: And plus, you are a high school student.
- 6:06SPEAKER_01: This is your new graduating this year, correct?
- 6:08SPEAKER_01: Yes, I am.
- 6:10SPEAKER_01: It's going to be really exciting.
- 6:12SPEAKER_01: Oh, my goodness, Megan.
- 6:13SPEAKER_01: You are doing some amazing things.
- 6:16SPEAKER_01: Are you able– so do you meet up with the other young women in this organization too?
- 6:23SPEAKER_01: Quite a bit?
- 6:25SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we have really regular meetings, but since everyone is in such different places, we have girls in Saudi Arabia and in Canada and in Korea.
- 6:36SPEAKER_02: It's really– Singapore even.
- 6:38SPEAKER_02: It's really– It's harder to meet because of the time difference.
- 6:44SPEAKER_02: So we actually have meetings around 4 a.m.
- 6:48SPEAKER_02: at my PSP time, and we do regular calls in order to catch up.
- 6:54SPEAKER_02: Yeah, but we actually do meet up once a year at the February 11th, International Day of Women and Girls in Science, and that's the most exciting day of the year.
- 7:04SPEAKER_02: Oh,
- 7:05SPEAKER_01: my goodness.
- 7:06SPEAKER_01: I love it.
- 7:07SPEAKER_01: That is just...
- 7:08SPEAKER_01: Absolutely amazing, Megan, because I know a lot of our listeners probably hadn't heard about stuff like that.
- 7:13SPEAKER_01: And for you to share that on today's program is very inspirational.
- 7:16SPEAKER_01: And I hope that we can post a little bit more about exactly what you're doing on our pages so that our listeners can read about it.
- 7:26SPEAKER_02: Yes, of course.
- 7:27SPEAKER_02: That would be super exciting.
- 7:30SPEAKER_01: I think if we can spread the word for all of this, I think the better.
- 7:33SPEAKER_01: The more young girls we can inspire out there, the better.
- 7:37SPEAKER_01: And I know that's exactly what you're doing and what you're, you know, obviously this group of amazing women are doing also is inspiring so many others around the world.
- 7:46SPEAKER_01: It's a global initiative and it's absolutely fantastic.
- 7:49SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and we're actually expanding our reach right now.
- 7:53SPEAKER_02: We're going to be creating a new website where we're going to be able to have these resources, not only to educate people about girls and science and gender equality, but ultimately about education.
- 8:09SPEAKER_02: So we'll be able to have lectures about financial literacy and economy and business.
- 8:17SPEAKER_01: Oh, my
- 8:18SPEAKER_02: goodness.
- 8:18SPEAKER_02: basic life skills that, you know, some people don't really have in third world countries.
- 8:25SPEAKER_02: And we want to be able to provide that to them.
- 8:28SPEAKER_02: So that will be coming up really soon.
- 8:31SPEAKER_01: When is this website going to be launched?
- 8:35SPEAKER_01: Is it going to be pretty soon or 2020?
- 8:37SPEAKER_02: Yeah, February in
- 8:39SPEAKER_01: 2020.
- 8:40SPEAKER_02: Okay.
- 8:43SPEAKER_01: Well, we'll have to get you back on the program to talk about that then because I think it's an amazing website.
- 8:48SPEAKER_01: I'm actually looking forward to seeing it and sharing it with as many people as we can because that's exactly what we need to get out there.
- 8:55SPEAKER_01: We need to have something like that that is going to be available for everyone.
- 9:00SPEAKER_02: Yeah, of course.
- 9:01SPEAKER_02: That actually sounds so exciting.
- 9:03SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much, Candice.
- 9:07SPEAKER_01: Well, Megan, you're an inspirational young lady, and I'm just excited to, you know, have you a part of our Diva family.
- 9:13SPEAKER_01: And as you were mentioning, as we kind of said in the beginning, Megan is actually one of the contributors to the Young Divas That Care book.
- 9:20SPEAKER_01: And we're so excited to have her in that book because, as you can hear, she is absolutely inspiring.
- 9:25SPEAKER_01: And just like the other girls in the book, that's what we want is we want to inspire and provide a platform for as many young ladies as we can.
- 9:32SPEAKER_01: And I hope that you check that out because you're going to love her story in there.
- 9:36SPEAKER_01: But, Megan, let's kind of dive back into the other thing that you do, the thing that you're passionate about and you're– Your business.
- 9:44SPEAKER_01: Well, if not, it's your nonprofit.
- 9:46SPEAKER_01: And that's what I always call it a business because it really is.
- 9:48SPEAKER_01: It's part of you.
- 9:49SPEAKER_01: And so can we talk about that?
- 9:51SPEAKER_01: Because I think Gear Up for Youth is an amazing, amazing program.
- 9:55SPEAKER_01: And for the new listeners that are tuning in, they might not have heard of that program yet.
- 9:58SPEAKER_01: And I want them to know about it.
- 10:01SPEAKER_02: Yes.
- 10:02SPEAKER_02: So I actually like to start from the very beginning from where I got my passion to start my national nonprofit.
- 10:10SPEAKER_02: And so I actually started my nonprofit because I've loved STEM ever since I was little.
- 10:16SPEAKER_02: And I would constantly play with Rubik's Cubes and Lego blocks.
- 10:22SPEAKER_02: And my parents would take me to these really cool science fairs.
- 10:27SPEAKER_02: And I remember my favorite activities were the ones with liquid nitrogen because they would always have liquid nitrogen ice cream.
- 10:35SPEAKER_02: And that was
- 10:36SPEAKER_00: my favorite.
- 10:39SPEAKER_02: And, you know, you can also use liquid nitrogen to actually freeze a penny and break it in half.
- 10:45SPEAKER_02: And that is really where my intellectual curiosity came from, you know, asking why does that happen?
- 10:51SPEAKER_02: how does that happen?
- 10:53SPEAKER_02: What can I do?
- 10:53SPEAKER_02: How can I apply this to other subjects?
- 10:57SPEAKER_02: And so as I was growing up, I realized I really wanted to be able to experience that in a technology camp.
- 11:06SPEAKER_02: And I actually got to go to my very first technology camp in fifth grade where I was super excited to go.
- 11:13SPEAKER_02: It was gonna be my first time actually learning in a classroom setting.
- 11:17SPEAKER_02: And I was really excited to collaborate with my peers and see what they wanted, what their ideas were.
- 11:24SPEAKER_02: But the first thing that I noticed when I stepped into that room was that I was in a room of 20 boys and only one other girl.
- 11:35SPEAKER_02: And you know, I felt really hesitant, nervous, intimidated even.
- 11:41SPEAKER_02: And it just really wasn't a welcoming environment for me.
- 11:45SPEAKER_02: And as I grew older, that experience really stuck with me.
- 11:49SPEAKER_02: You know, I wondered, why does that have to happen?
- 11:52SPEAKER_02: And I really wanted to be able to bridge that gender gap so that I could give other girls just like me the opportunity and the environment that facilitates their excitement for technology and STEM.
- 12:06SPEAKER_02: I also attended a Title I elementary and middle school where the majority of my peers were actually, oh, the Title I elementary school, do you know what that is, Candice?
- 12:20SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
- 12:22SPEAKER_02: Okay, so a Title I elementary school is a school where the majority of the families are actually coming from lower socioeconomic areas.
- 12:37SPEAKER_02: So the majority of my peers came actually from low-income families.
- 12:42SPEAKER_02: And, you know, I really remember this moment because where one of my really close friends asked me to go on a play date with her.
- 12:50SPEAKER_02: And so, of course, I went because she was my best friend.
- 12:54SPEAKER_02: But her house, it was actually a motel room, and she shared it with six other family members.
- 13:03SPEAKER_02: And I just remember the looks on their faces and how tired they looked because they lived there because they didn't have the income stable income to find a permanent home.
- 13:18SPEAKER_02: And you know, that really stuck with me.
- 13:20SPEAKER_02: And when I asked her what she wanted to do in the future, she would always shrug her shoulders.
- 13:27SPEAKER_02: And you know, I wanted to be able to change that because I thought STEM industry jobs actually are some of the highest paying jobs out there.
- 13:38SPEAKER_02: And you know, in the next couple of decades, There's going to be millions of job openings and not enough people to fill those job openings because we need skilled workers to be able to fill them.
- 13:51SPEAKER_02: And, you know, what if I was able to get these under-resourced girls and at-risk girls interested in STEM in order to be able to break the poverty cycle and, you know, fill those STEM job openings to be able to...
- 14:11SPEAKER_02: provide for their families as well.
- 14:13SPEAKER_02: And that's really where the idea came from.
- 14:16SPEAKER_02: I want to be able to bridge the gender gap and I want to be able to help support them to break the poverty cycle.
- 14:23SPEAKER_02: And that's really where I founded my international nonprofit organization.
- 14:29SPEAKER_02: And I started off at a boys and girls club where I was teaching classes about Lego robotics programming.
- 14:38SPEAKER_02: And You know, it was really fun because the girls are actually really engaged when they're learning about Lego robots.
- 14:47SPEAKER_02: And when they're learning about those robots, they are actually building those robots.
- 14:52SPEAKER_02: And after they build the robots, they're able to want to learn how to program it because they want to see their creations move or fly or rotate or rescue a little panda.
- 15:04SPEAKER_02: And...
- 15:06SPEAKER_02: Because of that, we're not forcing them or asking them to learn how to code.
- 15:11SPEAKER_02: They want to learn how to code.
- 15:13SPEAKER_02: And that's really how we are able to get them excited about coding and programming.
- 15:19SPEAKER_02: And through my classes, I realized...
- 15:22SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah.
- 15:24SPEAKER_01: You are just amazing.
- 15:27SPEAKER_01: I just listened to your story.
- 15:28SPEAKER_01: And, you know, I always think back every time I hear this.
- 15:31SPEAKER_01: I just like, you know, you are the epitome of...
- 15:34SPEAKER_01: a diva.
- 15:35SPEAKER_01: You are absolutely fantastic and creative and just awe-inspiring with the things that you can think of and how you are going to change the world by that.
- 15:44SPEAKER_01: I love that just talking about this in the program, how many more people you're going to inspire, not just young divas, but old divas like myself that have been around for a while.
- 15:56SPEAKER_01: You are definitely an inspiration.
- 15:59SPEAKER_02: Oh yeah, Candice, I'm so glad that I inspire you.
- 16:03SPEAKER_02: That's really my goal, you know.
- 16:05SPEAKER_01: Well, you definitely do that.
- 16:08SPEAKER_01: You know, everything that you've done with this program is just, it is, it's very inspiring.
- 16:14SPEAKER_01: It's, you know, I told you that before that I have a young, I have a young daughter also that is very into science and it is, it's amazing to hear that because it's not a It's something that more and more girls are getting into, but it is.
- 16:27SPEAKER_01: It's always been a male-dominated field.
- 16:30SPEAKER_01: And it's just because we...
- 16:31SPEAKER_01: there hasn't been a lot of, I wouldn't say there hasn't been a lot of opportunities, but girls don't feel like they can be a part of that.
- 16:37SPEAKER_01: And what you've allowed girls and what you're showing them is that it is possible.
- 16:41SPEAKER_01: It is fun.
- 16:42SPEAKER_01: It is engaging.
- 16:43SPEAKER_01: It is cool.
- 16:44SPEAKER_01: And my, my daughter thinks that way too, is that it's fun.
- 16:46SPEAKER_01: It's cool.
- 16:47SPEAKER_01: And this is all she wants to be.
- 16:48SPEAKER_01: And, you know, she shares a story with me all the time and how much she wants to be an aerospace engineer.
- 16:53SPEAKER_01: And I think, you know what, it's because she's able to listen to girls like yourself, that she gets inspired.
- 17:01SPEAKER_02: Oh, I'm so glad that your daughter is really excited about STEM.
- 17:06SPEAKER_02: I also want to go into aerospace or something related to the stars because it's so cool looking at everything that's out there and being able to explore the universe.
- 17:19SPEAKER_02: That's really exciting.
- 17:24SPEAKER_01: So tell us more.
- 17:24SPEAKER_01: I want to hear about your books because your books are absolutely fantastic.
- 17:29SPEAKER_01: I know there's some things that our listeners can perhaps go and get to help inspire them.
- 17:34SPEAKER_01: So let's talk about that.
- 17:37SPEAKER_02: Sure.
- 17:38SPEAKER_02: So I've actually authored and contributed to three books so far.
- 17:43SPEAKER_02: My first book was the one that I actually authored myself, which is Easy STEM Activities You Can Do at Home.
- 17:51SPEAKER_02: And it's basically a collection of 10 really cool activities about STEM.
- 17:58SPEAKER_02: But the best part about these activities is that all of these activities for their materials, all of their materials are common household items so anyone can be able to do them.
- 18:11SPEAKER_02: And especially since it's a book, it has international reach.
- 18:16SPEAKER_02: So I want to be able to reach areas where people don't necessarily have the resources to explore STEM while they're at school or at home.
- 18:28SPEAKER_02: And right now it's available at 10 libraries and online globally at Barnes and Nobles and Amazon.
- 18:37SPEAKER_02: So if there are any listeners out there that are in the Anaheim area, it's actually available at all 10 Anaheim libraries, which is super exciting.
- 18:46SPEAKER_02: And my second book is actually for my international platform and it's called February 11th for socioeconomic sustainable development, and it's set to release in February 2020.
- 19:02SPEAKER_02: I actually contributed a chapter about education and educating lower socioeconomic areas.
- 19:10SPEAKER_02: And along with a whole bunch of research inside that paper, I also included my own experiences and my own thoughts about how we should approach as a nation and as a world how we should approach the issue of educating the lower socioeconomic areas in third world countries along with here, you know.
- 19:34SPEAKER_02: And last but not least is the Young Divas That Cares book.
- 19:40SPEAKER_02: And that one's the one that I'm very excited for.
- 19:42SPEAKER_02: Well,
- 19:45SPEAKER_01: we can't wait until it comes out also.
- 19:47SPEAKER_01: And, you know, we're all listening to you.
- 19:50SPEAKER_01: And, you know, I have to kind of stress to all of our listeners today, Megan is in grade 12.
- 19:56SPEAKER_01: She's a senior in school.
- 19:58SPEAKER_01: She is doing all this while she is a senior.
- 20:01SPEAKER_01: And I always ask our listeners, what is next?
- 20:04SPEAKER_01: And I know for you, there's a lot.
- 20:05SPEAKER_01: So I'm going to say, Megan, what's next for you?
- 20:08SPEAKER_01: What do you have planned?
- 20:09SPEAKER_01: What is your next step?
- 20:13SPEAKER_02: Well, when I go to college, I would love to expand Gear Up for Youth to the part of the country that I go to.
- 20:19SPEAKER_02: And I really hope to continue pursuing my passions in teaching and technology so I can expand my reach nationally and internationally and gift more girls with the gratification that technology brings.
- 20:33SPEAKER_02: My goal is really to have 50 chapters internationally by 2025.
- 20:42SPEAKER_01: Oh, wow.
- 20:43SPEAKER_01: And we love that.
- 20:44SPEAKER_01: So you're talking about the gear for youth and you're wanting to expand it.
- 20:47SPEAKER_01: How many chapters do you currently have?
- 20:50SPEAKER_02: We actually have six international chapters right now.
- 20:56SPEAKER_01: Okay, so our goal is to get you to 50 by 2025.
- 21:01SPEAKER_01: You know what?
- 21:01SPEAKER_01: I think we can do that.
- 21:03SPEAKER_01: You know what?
- 21:04SPEAKER_01: We're going to talk to our tribe, the Divas That Care, and we're going to share your message, Megan, because you've got such an amazing message.
- 21:11SPEAKER_01: And I'm hoping what we can do is that we can get you to share more with all of our listeners, and we're going to get you back on here.
- 21:20SPEAKER_01: Obviously, when the website also launches for– You're a girl in science.
- 21:29SPEAKER_01: I really want to talk about that, too.
- 21:31SPEAKER_01: But, you know, we want to get these chapters going across not just North America, but you're thinking globally throughout, you know, Africa and Asia and Europe.
- 21:40SPEAKER_01: Is that what you're thinking?
- 21:42SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
- 21:42SPEAKER_02: Currently we have a chapter in Malaysia.
- 21:46SPEAKER_02: And, you know, it would be really exciting to be able to expand to all of the different continents, you know.
- 21:52SPEAKER_02: Wonderful.
- 21:54SPEAKER_01: Well, we'll definitely, we'll try to help you if we can.
- 21:57SPEAKER_01: We love locking arms with amazing, inspiring people like yourself.
- 22:00SPEAKER_01: And, you know, Megan, I just want to thank you so much.
- 22:03SPEAKER_01: I know you're obviously you're extremely busy.
- 22:05SPEAKER_01: You have so much on your plate and you've got such a huge heart.
- 22:10SPEAKER_01: So I want to thank you for taking the time to be on the Divas at Care today.
- 22:13SPEAKER_01: And as I said, I hope you come back on really soon again.
- 22:19SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much, Candice.
- 22:21SPEAKER_02: It was so great talking to you and being on this show again.
- 22:24SPEAKER_02: I'm so excited for all the future has to come for both the book and you and me and all of the listeners out there.
- 22:35SPEAKER_01: Well, you know what?
- 22:35SPEAKER_01: We love having you on, Megan.
- 22:37SPEAKER_01: You are, as I said, you're inspirational.
- 22:39SPEAKER_01: So we're going to have you back on in 2020 again.
- 22:42SPEAKER_01: and share some more amazing things that you are doing.
- 22:45SPEAKER_01: You know, I want to take a moment, too, to thank all of our listeners.
- 22:48SPEAKER_01: It's because of you.
- 22:48SPEAKER_01: As I said, we're going to be going into our 10th year in 2020.
- 22:51SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for supporting our amazing guests that come on our program.
- 22:55SPEAKER_01: These women, young, old, they are beautiful and amazing, and we want to share and showcase them in any way we can.
- 23:04SPEAKER_01: And it's because of you that we are able to do that.
- 23:06SPEAKER_01: So I want to take a moment just to thank each and every one of you for being supportive of our movement.
- 23:11SPEAKER_01: You know, make sure that you check them out at divasatcare.com.
- 23:18SPEAKER_01: Our website is going to be changing in 2020.
- 23:21SPEAKER_01: We actually are going to be launching a brand-new platform, so make sure you tune into that.
- 23:25SPEAKER_01: It's hopefully in January also that all that's going to be taking place.
- 23:29SPEAKER_01: So, again, thank you to our amazing guest, Megan.
- 23:32SPEAKER_01: Thank you to all of our listeners.
- 23:33SPEAKER_01: I hope that you do something amazing out there, something kind for the people around you.
- 23:38SPEAKER_01: Until next time, have a wonderful day, everyone.
- 23:40SPEAKER_01: Bye-bye for now.