Women in STEM by Shaylee

Women in STEM by Shaylee - January 2026 Scholarship Essay

People always joke about “women in STE<” and how hard it is to be one. I always thought it was a funny joke that would not apply to me. Not because I did not want to go into stem, but because I had never been in a situation where the joke applied to me. I had always had an equal number of girls in my STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) classes. That was until my first day of OSSM (Oklahoma School of Science and Math). I remember being excited to walk into class and meet my classmates, but as everyone started walking in I noticed that I was the only girl in the class. Because of the challenges I faced while in that class, I learned how to believe in myself and work in a new environment.
While I did face not fitting in with my class, the main challenge I faced was imposter syndrome. I felt like I did not belong in that class every time I got a bad test score or struggled understanding an assignment. It was also hard for me to fit in with the boys because I had never really been friends with boys before. I struggled to relate to most of their conversations and I was scared of starting conversations, so for a while I did not talk in the class. All of these factors made that class extremely difficult for me. I started facing a lot of self doubt and stress when I thought about that class and I felt like I had no one that I could talk to. The imposter syndrome was always the worst after a test because I would compare myself to the boys even though we were all scoring the same. Most of my stress came from the thought that if I failed then every girl would fail. During that time, I felt as if I represented every girl in STEM, so I would dress up when my class would take field trips because I wanted people to know that girls in STEM didn’t have to look nerdy. Being the only girl in my class affected me in many ways, but it also taught me very valuable lessons.
All of the challenges I faced in my OSSM class last year taught me how to work in an unfamiliar environment and believe in myself. Even though it was hard for me to fit in with the boys, eventually I found a way to connect with them. I found ways to relate to them and I realized that the more I talked to them the easier it became for me to start conversations. The imposter syndrome also started to dissipate when I started talking to the boys and discovered that the boys felt the same way. As I got more comfortable, I stopped worrying about representing all girls and focused on me. This alleviated most of the stress I had and allowed me to focus more on the class resulting in me performing better on tests. This helped me learn to believe in myself by allowing me to prove to myself that I was smart enough for this class. Because I struggled with being the only girl, I learned how to work in new environments and with new people. I learned how to work with people I did not know and taught me how to communicate with new people.
Because of all the challenges I faced in OSSM, I learned important skills that will help me grow as a student and as a person. Because the environment was so new to me, I learned how to adapt to the environment I was working in and to persevere. I also learned that by connecting with my classmates and relieving stress, I could believe in myself. While I would not have picked to be in that class, I have overcome many challenges and learned important lessons.