Alona Meirav graduated last year from Newton South HS and is studying Chemical Engineering at University of Colorado Boulder. She sends this message back to high-school students considering — or not yet considering — a STEM major.
As a recent graduate of Newton South High School, I’ll admit I came into my freshman year of college feeling prepared and maybe a little more confident than I should have. It was only to be expected, courtesy of the outstanding faculty at Newton South. It was thanks to Mr. Crosby, my sophomore year chemistry teacher, that I even decided to study chemical engineering in the first place.
Anyone can wax eloquent about college and all the interesting people it offers, but being the engineering nerd that I am, I was truly awed by the sheer amount of STEM-related fields and opportunities I found. In Chemical Engineering alone there are infinite paths to follow: energy and fuel industries, biochemistry, and tissue engineering — words that may sound less than thrilling but are really beyond cool. There are professors at my university who are researching the manufacturing of synthetic human organs: The future of that means no one will have to wait for a heart transplant ever again. Research into fuel efficiency and technology might save species, habitats, and ecosystems that are going extinct. Aerospace engineering: Who didn’t once want to be an astronaut and work at NASA? Computer Science is without a question the future of technology, the job market… Actually it’s pretty much the future. If anyone asked me what to study if you want to be guaranteed a job anytime in the next 10 years, I wouldn’t even hesitate to say Computer Science.
The realm of influence that STEM professionals wield is awe inspiring. And being undergraduates alongside them, researching with them and working for them, is the most valuable and educational experience a scientist or engineer could dream of. Even if you don’t see yourself as an engineer or scientist, all it really takes is curiosity or a little interest in how and why things work. You would be surprised how much STEM has to offer, in every area imaginable. So I urge you, students, to take just a few minutes, google something you’re interested in, and see what’s out there. And I urge you, parents and teachers, to help students find something that draws them, because it definitely exists. In a perfect world, everyone would have that one person who really pushes them toward their future, but for those who don’t, let it not be said that no one tried, because I’m telling you right now that STEM is the way to make a difference.