I am going to tell you a story of how I almost leaked out of the STEM pipeline. A concept of how at important stages of career choices from primary school to practising STEM, women jump ship in alarmingly more rates than men.
I grew up in Lagos, Nigeria. I was quite fortunate to be able to attend any school of my parents’ choice, so they sent me to Greensprings, an international British curriculum school. One day in the 4th grade, I must have been about 8 years old, one of my classmates walked into the class holding about 5 huge books in her hands. Out of surprise I asked her ‘why do you have so many books? Where did you get them from?’ She explained it was from the prize giving day. You see Greensprings gave book prizes for the students that excelled most in each subject from each class. From then on, it was my mission to get as many as I could. I did not like reading books, but I was pretty determined.
I told my mom about my goal and how I wanted to get my grades up. She then invested in a maths home tutor for me, Mr. Adekunle. When he started teaching me, my world opened up so much; not only was I excelling in maths after just two weeks of lessons, but I was excelling in all my other subjects. This thirst for knowledge and ambition was with me right till the end of high school, where I had to narrow down my subject choice. At this point, my maths, physics and chemistry teacher asked me what I wanted to be. I had made up my mind after watching one too many episodes of the Discovery Channel ‘How It’s Made’ that I was going to be an Industrial Engineer. Immediately, he said, ‘No, Stephanie, that is too rigid for you!’ At the back of my mind I had a wee laugh because I knew I could do whatever I wanted to do. At this stage I could have decided to choose another career path as I was still quite impressionable. I do not know where the determination came from, but I persisted. I was going to be an engineer.
So, fast-forward 6 months, I start attending an International Baccalaureate school in Wales. And then I realise, there are only 5 other girls in my maths class of 30 and even fewer in my physics class. In addition to that, I was doing a lot poorer in those subjects that I ought to, especially if I wanted to be an engineer. Things got so hard and, no matter how hard I tried, I still did not reach the standard. At my lowest point, after failing yet another maths test, I decided I wasn’t going to study engineering anymore. I was going to take an easier maths course and study politics, philosophy and economics, because those were the subjects I was ‘good at’, the subjects I found ‘easy’. So, as I was about to send in my resignation slip to my math teacher, I called my aunty and mom, crying on the phone, telling them the decision I had to make. They told me point blank no, clean your tears and keep persevering. So, I did, I worked so hard, but still nothing. I took my exams; results day came and I had failed math. Most universities said ‘Well, we wouldn’t take you for engineering, but you can study politics or business.’ At this point, I actually lost quite a bit of hope and was considering if I could actually be an engineer, another point where I could have leaked out. Nevertheless, I still persisted until I found the University of Dundee who accepted me.
I am now currently a second-year civil engineering student and I absolutely adore what I do. I decided to study civil engineering after I got exposure to the construction industry. The moment I walked on-site to my first project, a 15-storey luxury office, I fell in love. Every day, I learnt something new, met someone new and my passion for civil engineering grew. From the chalking of the dimensions and the erection of the reinforcements to the installation of the framework and filling it with concrete, each moment meant progress and was essential in creating a masterpiece which livelihoods would rely on. Anytime I pass this building, I feel a sense of pride and accomplishment, even though it would be standing without me. I get excited at the prospects of being an actual civil engineer, so much so that I desperately seek any engineering experience I can get. From summer placements to insight days I am all over it. In March last year, I participated in the IStructE student modelling competition and my team won 3rd place. It was such an exciting experience. I honestly don’t think there is anything I would be happier doing.
As happy as I am now, I realise there were so many points I could have jumped ship. From when I was 8, I could have been complacent with my averageness, to all those times I was tempted to study other subjects, to times where I was discouraged and times I felt and still feel isolated as one of the few women, in my classes, on-site, and during my last internship. I strongly believe that this needs to change. For this reason, I started the Women in STEM society at my university and work as an Interconnect Student Champion for Equate Scotland.
This is my passion and I believe passion is infectious. I believe we can do anything we set our minds to if we want it bad enough, regardless of our gender, race, religion or culture. We need to focus on the possibilities when women want to become engineers. We need to work together as engineers and people in the construction industry to fix this leaky pipeline. For all the professionals in the industry, I don’t want Women in STEM to be just a check box, but a passion, a mission. This decision is in your hands, you have the ability to start the ignition. From water cooler chat to encouraging the development of women currently in your office and academic institutions. And with this diversity and inclusion, we will reach unanticipated heights.
Thank you.
