Reaching for the Stars Through STEM
As a future woman in STEM, Think Together student Noemi is bound to face some obstacles. The National Science Foundation reports that women make up 35% of the U.S. STEM workforce and receive lower wages than men. That is why Think Together’s mission, along with the support of The Boeing Company, is crucial when changing the odds for all students, regardless of their background.
Noemi is ready to take on the world of STEM and achieve remarkable things with Think Together’s support. She is the Think Together Drone Club co-founder and co-captain of the robotics team at her high school in Compton.
Being in leadership positions is no easy task, especially when one of the captains of the robotics team moves schools, but Noemi is confidently stepping up to the plate. She says that the opportunity to be a Think Together student leader has boosted her confidence and made her more comfortable when interacting with new people.
“I never really had the opportunity to do anything in STEM. So being able to just have my feelings considered and be granted opportunities to do such really big things at my age is amazing. I’m really happy that Think Together can give me that opportunity,” Noemi said.
Boeing has contributed more than $500,000 in support of STEM, coding, and robotics programs that support our Coding For All initiative and has worked with Think Together for five years and counting. Included in that initiative are visual and text-based code editing, rapid-prototyping, STEM career explorations, Invention Adventures activities, and Hack Clubs across numerous Think Together regions.
Noemi even got the chance to personally meet representatives of Boeing when they came down to her school to see all the amazing things the STEM program was doing for Think Together students. She was excited to meet them, along with Think Together’s founder and CEO, Randy Barth.
“I felt really proud of myself and went home and told all my family about it. When I tell people they go, ‘Wow, you talked to Boeing?’ and I’m like yeah, I talked to Boeing, and I was even interviewed for it,” Noemi said. “I even shook hands with Think Together’s CEO! I’ve never shook hands with the CEO before, so that’s cool. My favorite thing about it is being able to flex on the fact that I’m in such a high position for my age.”
The STEM programs supported by Boeing impact more than 12,000 Think Together students in Los Angeles County and Orange County. They directly benefit students like Noemi by sparking creativity, strengthening critical thinking skills, and invoking interest in pursuing a career in the STEM field.
“We need STEM for like every little thing we do. We need math for a lot of aspects of life and science. Even if you never use it, you actually do,” Noemi said. “I’m passionate in what I do, so I just hope people understand where I’m coming from and that they might gain a little passion for it too.”
Although still young and a high school sophomore, Noemi has big aspirations to build a career where she can design and build prosthetics for animals. Think Together cannot thank the Boeing Company and our other corporate partners enough for continuously being champions of expanded learning, because it truly takes a village to change the odds!
