The STEMinist Chronicles

Anita Silver (she/hers/her) is a graduate student at Duke University studying Biomedical Engineering.
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"’Never fear, I'm a bioengineer!’ says the department sticker they gave us. Biomedical engineering is a broad field, and I often felt like because I didn't know everything about it, I must know nothing about it. That wasn't true. By studying the things that fascinated me most, I ended up coming to graduate school to study microbes like bacteria and how they can do cool things as groups! I'm grateful to have met friendly people in academia who seem to have well-rounded lives. I hope my struggle to overcome nagging self-doubt will inspire others to believe in themselves.”
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Mira Chaplin (she/her/hers) has recently completed her undergraduate degree with a major in Environmental Engineering. She is now a first year  student at the University of Michigan studying Environmental Engineering.
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“My friends know me as the water woman – I’m always sharing engineering facts and expressing an opinion on the overlapping water crises facing California. When I started my engineering degree, my courses were highly theoretical, and I often contemplated switching majors. I stayed because I fell in love with environmental engineering, where I’ve applied hard science to questions such as global water distribution and tracking COVID in wastewater. Now, as I start my PhD in Michigan, I’m excited to see where life takes me and to continue doing what I love.”
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Grace Fujii (she/they) has recently graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in astrophysics.
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“I always felt that my life was leading me towards a career in STEM, so it has been difficult to realize that I am now drawn in different directions. As I’ve grown into myself, it’s become increasingly apparent that I love creative work, so since graduating, I have been pursuing graphic design. Although I am no longer in STEM, the education I received is very valuable to me, and the innate curiosity and desire to continue learning persist. Diversity in STEM is also still very important to me, and I hope to continue working to uplift the community.”
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Namrata Ramesh (she/her/hers) has recently graduated magna cm laude from the University of California, Berkeley, where she majored in Physics. She will now be pursuing her masters in Material Science at Oxford University.
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“What draws me to physics are the deeply fundamental questions it asks. My dreams were tested, from five-hour long midterms to being only one of a handful of women in all my classes. I grew in confidence, from asking my first questions in class to having the courage to start "The STEMinist Chronicles", and to finally try applying for (and winning!) the Rhodes Scholarship. A love for the Universe is why I started. A love for the incredible people in my community is why I stayed. A love for using physics to improve sustainable energy technology is what keeps me inspired.”
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Sheena Louisia (she/her/hers) is a fourth-year graduate student, studying chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley.
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“Born from a Cambodian mother and a French Caribbean father, my uprising in a distant island staged my identity to already be rich and complex. There, I grew up with an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Learning and perfecting new skills has always been a passion. With my parents as role models, so different and brilliant at the same time, I never thought of success as limited by who I was but rather who I wanted to be. Today, as a fourth year PhD candidate in Chemistry, I still consider Science as the only obstacle to my next accomplishment.”
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@ University of California, Berkeley