Episode 48: First Gens in STEM
In this episode Mijin chats with a high school student and aspiring engineer, Maan, first gen college student majoring in Environmental Science Ray, and college grad coder Cristian about exploring Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields as first gen college students and how they were able to find their path through mentorship, exploration, and research.
In this episode you will hear from:
Maan, a high school student living in Illinois who is applying to college as a first gen student. Maan was able to use his experience with his uncle in Palestine to discover his passion for engineering and is planning on continuing his education in college in either Electrical Engineering or Computer Science.
Ray, a first generation college student who is attending Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Ray talks about his experience of using college as a time to explore his different interests both in and outside of the classroom, and how he was able to select his major and future career goals in the process.
Cristian, a first generation college grad who attended University of Michigan and majored in Cognitive Science. Cristian sheds light on how he was able to combine what he learned from his major in the classroom and his internship and extracurricular experiences to navigate to his current job as an app developer.
For first gens interested in pursuing a career in STEM, joining a professional organization centered around a STEM profession may be a good start to grow your network and gain more hands-on experience outside of the classroom. For those who are interested, please refer to some of the STEM organizations below. This is not an exhaustive list but a good place to start:
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