As a math major, the usual reaction I get when I tell someone what I’m going to college for is “oof.” I mean, yeah, math is tough. There are numbers, letters, and even punctuation (a new concept I just learned about this week) involved. A LOT of your understanding will depend on who your professor is, how they teach the class, and your overall curiosity for learning, but honestly, I get it.
Who likes math?
The more I hear about people’s reactions to that or other STEM majors, the more I admire other women who both pursued and succeeded in what I am doing right now. Although not too common in history, you do get the occasional female scientist or mathematician who took the same classes and curriculums as their male counterparts and made it just as far. Now, just to clarify, this article is NOT about bashing male mathematicians; rather, I just wanted to highlight the importances in having female role models in our society for other young girls who just might possibly…like math?
In my senior year of high school, I went to a fair at a community college called Girls in Manufacturing. There were some guys there, and the lady who ran the program told me that if they called the event “Kids in Manufacturing,” most of the people who came would probably be guys.
I mean, it’s definitely more intimidating being a girl in a room filled with boys, so I don’t blame them. Anyway, I was deciding my major around that time and was pretty set on math, so I talked to these female engineers—one of them got her bachelor’s in math—and got their insight on things. All I heard was encouragement to go for it, because I was just as capable of achieving it as anyone else was.
I want to be that person for the next generation, to be an inspiration to girls who might be interested in less common majors and want to try something new. It is NOT easy, and it’s only going to get harder, but it is really amazing to see how our world works.
A lot of girls I know are going into health science, nursing, and other tough majors. Although we’re not taking the same classes besides GenEd’s, it’s also so important that we stick together to support one another. Sometimes, knowing someone else is pursuing their dream is inspiring to your own, especially when you know they aren’t letting being a woman stop them.