The story of two little girls

On yesterday we had our 2nd Annual Science, Engineering and Mathematics Career Fair and Exhibition at Georgia State University. Each year, I am always amazed to see the parents and K-12 students that are interested or at least want to be exposed to STEM Careers. This year children as young as 4 and as old as 15 meet forensic scientists, chemists, biologists, biomedical researchers, engineers and public health professionals. Each year, there are always some students that capture my attention while they are enjoying their experience at the career fair. There were two young girls 7 and 8, that I watched enthusiastically bounce from table to table during the fair. Both of these young ladies have the potential of being future scientists, engineers or mathematicians that are women of color. Like several of our exhibitors and board members are.

The 7 year old bounced from table to table asking questions of each exhibitor, taking their goodies and was an active participant in the hands on activities that some of the exhibitors provided. This inquisitive 7 year old took her time going from table to table seeing what each had to teach her about STEM fields. The young lady had so much enthusiasm and energy, I don't think her parents could keep up with her they just watched from a distance to ensure that she was still in the ballroom. When I asked her what she learned and enjoyed from the fair, she had something to say about what she learned from each of the tables she visited. Being 7 she definitely enjoyed the tables that engaged her in hands on a demonstrations of science; but even for the table that she quite didn't get a grasp of the career path, she said with a smile " he gave me some candy".

The second little girl, who was 8 years old, walked in to the room and said "I'm in heaven". This little girl who in elementary school already has a passion and enthusiasm for science. I asked her why she thought she was in heaven and she stated she had the opportunity to meet so many scientists and engineers in one room. Her mother mentioned to me that the she works at a local university and has been trying to nurture her daughter's passion for science as much as she could through various activities. I watched this young lady as she went from table to table. As she was leaving the fair, I asked her did she still feel like she had been to heaven by attending the fair. She said yes and being the future scientist that she is, shared that the table she enjoyed the most was the Georgia Tech Women in Chemistry table, where she got an opportunity to do several chemistry and physics experiments.

If our fair doesn't touch any more than these two young ladies, we would have done our job as an organization. Although, I believe that when we get the data from our evaluator from the surveys that the attendees and exhibitors completed, we will find out that more than these two families were happy that they attended our career fair. Which is why we are already looking forward to next year's fair and the Experimental Design and Math and Science Career Academy activities we have planned for the 2009-10 Academic Year.


We are so very appreciative to the graduate students and professionals that took the time out of their busy schedule to showcase their careers to students. Most importantly we are also thankful to our event sponsors, Centers for Disease Control Career Paths to Public Health Program, Eiram Creative, Georgia Institute of Technology School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the American Chemical Society who provide the resources for this event to take place. In addition, we are thankful to the individuals that support our mission and programs through their contributions to our "Donate Your Money" Individual Donor Campaign and Malcolm Pirnie our corporate sponsor for the 2008-09 program year. I would also like to thank SEM Link's Board of Directors and Advisory Board for their support of the organization. Last by not least, I would like to thank our Programs Assistant, Ms. Angela Hardin and volunteers Shenia Patterson and Derrick Standifer for all their help with the logistics the fair take place before and during the event; I couldn't have pulled it off with out your help. You all help us achieve our vision in the "unveiling potential through exposure"