Empowering Girls and Building Confidence

By Amanda Tran

Being a shy kid, I often struggled to strike conversations and interact with others who shared my interests. In my favorite classes I often felt too intimidated to speak up and share my ideas. I remember my mom would encourage me to attend fun STEM events, like computer science workshops or life science presentations. Learning how to code with Python, and watching hydrogen peroxide react with catalysts to make "elephant's toothpaste" really fascinated me, but I struggled to break out of my shell. Not only was I terrified of speaking in public, I also was afraid of being laughed at if I was incorrect. I was holding myself back throughout elementary and middle school and it affected how I implemented new ideas and concepts. I remember being the only girl in a computer science class, and I started feeling drowned out by boys who were much more confident and vocal than me. Being one of only a few girls on my math team in middle school was somewhat empowering, because I felt that I was able to represent a minority in that field. But it still wasn't the same as sharing that experience with many other dedicated, smart girls.

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