#IAmAWomanInSTEM
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Leadership Projects

An important component of the initiative is for our student ambassadors to take on leadership roles. There are no formal requirements but all who signed up to be a part of the initiative are expected to come up with their own way of providing a leadership role in raising awareness on campus and beyond regarding the issues involved in persisting and succeeding as a woman in STEM fields. There are important ways by which to examine the kinds of leadership efforts undertaken with #IAmAWomanInSTEM service projects; and, we rely on the AAC&U's Civic Engagement VALUE Rubric (download .pdf here) to evaluate whether a contribution to the initiative enriches both personally and publicly and is socially beneficial to our community.

Check out these amazing activities underway in 2017-18:

  • #IAmAWomanInSTEM @ UK student organization led by #IAmAWomanInSTEM student ambassadors Ndeye Thiaw, Mollye Malone and Heather Campbell. This group of leaders will be applying for funding, attending UK student organization orientations, managing events, and making sure the association is active and on the right track. See more here. 
  • #IAmAWomanInSTEM information table at several University events - August: K-Week Ruckus, GWS Graduate Student Conference; September: Preparing Science Professionals Symposium (American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
  • "STEM Woman of the Week" campaign led by #IAmAWomanInSTEM student ambassador Hannah Thompson. See more here.
  • UK STEM Groups gatherings led by Heather Campbell and Kayla Kuhfeldt. See more on the STEM Groups at UK here.
  • Semper Crescente (Always Growing) K12 Outreach workshops led by Tsage Douglas together with Dr. Margaret Mohr-Schroeder and Lt. Gov. Janean Hampton with NSF-EPSCOR funding.
  • FemSTEMpowerment gatherings and field trips led by Taylor Ford.
  • Designing STEM Spaces for Teaching, Encouragement, and Mentorship by Cameron Ginter
  • An Autobiographical blog by Katie Kloska reflecting on the ideas from the UK300 Service-Learning class (in a section under the leadership of graduate student Brittany Rice) in her life today. See more here.
  • ECO 391 section in Fall 2017 taught by Amanda McCullough (rising 4th year Ph.D. in Economics) with assignments on statistical analysis of issues regarding gender and STEM-related career pathways.

These activities were undertaken in 2016-17:

  • Founding of the #IAmAWomanInSTEM @ UK student organization led by #IAmAWomanInSTEM student ambassadors Ndeye Thiaw, Mollye Malone and Heather Campbell. This group of leaders will be applying for funding, attending UK student organization orientations, managing events, and making sure the association is active and on the right track. See more here. 
  • #IAmAWomanInSTEM table at the March for Science here in Lexington on Saturday, April 22nd. For more information or to volunteer to help, contact #IAmAWomanInSTEM student ambassadors Cynthia J. Arnold (Biosystems Engineering), Holly A. Young (Geology), and Samantha M. Hamilton (Biology and Neuroscience).
  • Co-sponsoring the Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) Conference at UK on April 29, 2017, with Dr. Ellen Crocker, Ph.D., Department of Forestry - #IAmAWomanInSTEM student ambassadors will be leading workshops for middle school girls in collaboration with STEM faculty mentors. Dr. Crocker is offering a 2-credit hour EXP 396 course to support the preparation and implementation of the UK students' workshops offered.
  • t-shirt for #IAmAWomanInSTEMCreating a new T-Shirt for #IAmAWomanInSTEM with funding organized by #IAmAWomanInSTEM student ambassador Sierra Shepherd
  • Creating a Quiet Study Space for #IAmAWomanInSTEM student ambassadors - see the Donovan Trust application for funding (.pdf file) for furniture and wall-hanging to create a customized micro-environment in the M.I.King Science Library.
  • "STEM Woman of the Week" campaign (download flyer .pdf file here) led by #IAmAWomanInSTEM student ambassadors Hannah Thompson and Caylyn Railey. See more here. Want to nominate a woman for our series? Fill out the webform here: https://goo.gl/forms/KnhhrkMzLv41Ze573​
  • Call for Applications for #IAmAWomanInSTEM Student Scholarships and Graduate/Postdoctoral Student and/or Professional Staff Stipends - proposals for projects starting in Winter or Spring 2018 due October 31st (see details in #IAmAWomanInSTEM Googlegroup).

When the #IAmAWomanInSTEM initiative launched in partnership with the American Association of University Women in Spring 2016, the founding #IAmAWomanInSTEM student ambassadors created these projects to help raise awareness about women's roles in STEM-related classrooms and workplace settings. Many of these projects were started as a result of a research-based field experiences in partnership with their assigned #IAmAWomanInSTEM mentors. We continue to seek original development of digital materials (either for a social media campaign using the #IAmAWomanInSTEM hashtag or for upload to the IAmAWomanInSTEM website).

  • Facebook Community Page launch - a project led by UK undergraduate STEM majors Darci Davis, Katherine Kloska, Rachel Minrath, Maggie Stull, Courtney Wiegand, and mentored by Brittany Rice, a graduate student in biology at Eastern Kentucky University
  • Tumblr site launch along with an campus interviews along with a poster board of research - a project led by UK undergraduate STEM majors Arnela Alomerovic, Loren Ewing and Sarah Phillips, and mentored by Dr. Thushani Roderigo-Peiris, UK College of Medicine
  • "STEM-SPIRATION" - an interactive website project led by UK undergraduate STEM majors Elizabeth Grau, Destiny Luttrell, and Hayden Pollard, and mentored by Dr. Madushi Raththagala, UK College of Medicine
  • Video "#IAmAWomanInSTEM" featuring UK undergraduate STEM majors Brittany Auvil, Liz Barajas, LaShay Byrd, Holly Grajera, Audrey Stoess and Gabriela Talavera-Santiago, and mentored by Dr. Ellen Crocker, UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
  • Video "Being a Woman in STEM" featuring UK undergraduate STEM majors Kate Collins, Sabita Dumre, Kathryn Levitan, Rachel Mowl and Mayte Hernando-Murillo, and mentored by Dr. Madushi Raththagala, UK College of Medicine
  • Focus Groups on UK Campus in Partnership with faculty leadership in the Center for Social Justice and Equity - a project led by UK undergraduate STEM majors Zerina Mehic, Kendall Rump and Ndeye Thiaw, and mentored by Dr. Thushani Roderigo-Peiris, UK College of Medicine
  • #IAmAWomanInSTEM banners for women in STEM to write anything motivational, whether it be their own inspiring story, a quote that motivates them, or a piece of advice they want to offer other women launched (and still using for other in-person group settings) originally led by UK undergraduate STEM majors by Margaret Piron and Holly Young, and mentored by Dr. Thushani Roderigo-Peiris, UK College of Medicine
  • Paige Harrison, Where Are All The Women In STEM?, The Odyssey Online (15 February 2016): https://www.theodysseyonline.com/women-stem
  • Slides from Shelby Albers, a math major (2016) and member of the #IAmAWomanInSTEM Steering Team, presented on the initiative at the Kentucky state convention of American Association of University Women (AAUW) in April 2016 and again at the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL) in May.