Although the competitive fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics have been thriving during the past few years, they still lack female representation. Despite the increased opportunities in education and innovations, women are still generally marginalized throughout their careers. With that being said, there is a major absence in support for young females who wish to pursue a path in these fields. This results in a lack of diversity, thereby creating a linear male perspective in the workforce. This is detrimental to the potential careers of many females because it discourages them from continuing to advance their skills. Unfortunately, statistics show that change is happening at an incredibly slow rate.
In order to help change that, we gathered together a group of female student leaders to establish the Adelphi University ACM-W Student Chapter. This chapter was created based on an ideology that the ACM-W stands by: To support, celebrate, and advocate internationally for the full engagement of women in all aspects of the computing field. We believe that hosting a Women in Scientific Computing Conference would be a great way to not only support our own female researchers, but to also show representation across the STEM fields. Adelphi is the home to many student leaders who seek to create change and want to encourage others to do the same. Therefore, this conference is intended for college students studying any one of the STEM fields. Additionally, junior and senior high school students who are also interested in pursuing science and technology are very much welcome.
The objective to include high school students in this program is crucial to our cause because we believe that encouragement and awareness need to start early. There are too many stories that feature young girls who, without proper support, are discouraged to follow through their ambitions for a STEM career. We do this for the ones that face negativity from their peers, resulting in feelings of unwelcomeness. We do this for the ones that doubt their abilities and their potential growth due to the lack of female leadership in their STEM classes. Most importantly, we do this for the ones that are unaware of the opportunities that await them if they decide to continue within their STEM paths. We do this for them.
As an organization, we want to show our Adelphi women that their studies and achievements matter. By inviting distinguished speakers to present and discuss their research and accomplishments, we want to promote mutual support and provide networking opportunities for those in attendance. Our goal is to celebrate the accomplishments of our own, and recognize them for not giving up despite the odds being stacked against them. We do this for the ones that lose motivation because they rarely hear about the success of women in their fields. We do this for those that admire successful female workers and doubt themselves and/or their potential. We do this for them.
We hope that this conference proves to young, ambitious girls that although the odds may not be in their favor, they can do whatever they set their minds to. As for our own students, we hope that this encourages them to continue their studies no matter what obstacles appear on their paths. With this event, we aspire to encourage women to cherish the knowledge and drive they possess, thereby increasing hope for others to achieve even more.