STEM ResearcHER is a 501c3 nonprofit organization working to bridge the gender and accessibility gap in STEM research fields through speaker workshops, mentorship programs, and other community events.

STEM Stravanga 2025 RECAP

A special thanks to our keynote speakers and our UIUC student panel:

• Melanie Traughber (Chief Operating Officer @ HOPPR)

• Allison Park (Principal Enterprise Architect @ Salesforce)

• Leena Abdelrahman (CS @ UIUC Prev SDE Intern @ AWS)

• Zaina Anarwala (Systems Engineering @ UIUC Grainger Engineering)

STEM ResearcHER is incredibly appreciative of your time and knowledge that you brought to the group!

Missed STEM Stravaganza? Don’t Worry!

Our amazing executive team is currently planning our future STEM Stravaganzas, and exciting possibilities are being planned. Tune in to future newsletters and our socials for updates on our next STEM Stravaganza!

Congrats to Chi-raffle Winners!

Congrats to Nozima Zair, Anneliese Alvarez and Jessica Zhu! You’ll be getting an email from STEM Researcher’s COO this upcoming days ❤️ 

Ongoing Updates:

Want to Join STEM ResearcHER?

You can gain volunteering hours, community, and follow your passion. No experience needed, join the team as a…

• Finance: Cold-email companies and contacts for monetary support for STEM ResearcHER events. Send invoices and work with finances

• Ambassador: outreach STEM ResearcHER Instagram posts, events, emails, etc. within your school and other communities

• Marketing: create Instagram posts + reels, along with TikToks and Facebook posts

• Education: Develop curriculum, running online (and potentially on-site!) bootcamps, and mentoring students

Do YOU have a STEM story you want to share? Get in touch with the Director of PR to get your story in our newsletter!

STEM Opportunities:

How to be Involved:

1. Research Consistently: There is power in knowledge. For summer internships, competitions, and joining organizations, research and keep tabs on them early on to not miss opportunities.

2. Be Prepared: Start a resume, brag sheet, and CV in case an internship/job requires it for applications. The earlier you start, the faster you can apply for an opportunity. The early bird gets the worm, but the smarter bird can find the whole stash!

3. Start building recommendation lists: Teachers, Counselors, and other mentors will make great recommendations to attest to your work ethic and motivation! Start building those relationships early.

✨✨Additional Food for Thought✨✨:

• Find your WHY for STEM or other activities you enjoy, and write it down for your future self

• STEM needs YOUR part and voice- no idea is a bad idea and every start is beautiful! Don’t be afraid of the beginning, just look forward to the journey.

• STEM is about curiosity! The fact that you signed up to this newsletter shows you already have this, and that’s such a wonderful step forward in becoming the person you want to be!

Study Playlist of the Month for YOUU🎧🎧✨

Introducing… SMASH

SMASH aims to build a strong STEM workforce through academic learning and experiential engagement for high school and college students. Through intensive education, rigorous coursework, and access to resources, they cultivate success in college and careers.

They hope to create a STEM ecosystem where every student can thrive in the global economy while gaining a background that will allow them to be competitive candidates for future career pathways and opportunities.

Want to learn more about how to be involved in SMASH? Click here to connect and be updated on programs, opportunities, and networking available for high school students. For our middle schoolers, keep in touch to be involved with them in the beginning of high school.

If you are interested in blending medicine, biology, and engineering to design and develop medical devices, look into biomedical engineering

Advice on Future Steps:

How to Get Involved:

What You Can Do Right Now:

1. Focus on retaining and understanding the fundamentals of STEM and medicine

2. Learn the software you will need in college/university (ex. Fusion 360)

3. Read and research about the latest medical tech and how you can be involved

Additional Advice:

1. Look into internships to gain experience over the school year or summer: Most have early deadlines, so repeatedly scout if any are opening for the upcoming school year/summer. And not every opportunity has to be prestigious and you can create large impact with a local opportunity!

2. Every opportunity shouldn’t cost you a lot of $$$: There are paid internships available, but remember that you can succeed even if you can’t afford expensive programs. Always look into financial aid if you are concerned.

3. Impact starts small: Not everyone has immediate access to the whole state, but even impacting one person goes a long way in growing into the person who can be involved state-wide, nation-wide, or even internationally. Don’t beat yourself up; just the fact that you are starting now is a great step forward.

Reach out to us!