Bazaarvoice owned company, Influenster,has always strived to empower the next generation through raising awareness about career and education opportunities. To support this focus, the company awarded scholarships to young women studying in STEM subjects who had made vast contributions to their respective fields. Each of the recipients was awarded funding towards their tuition or academic expenses.
Influenster, a female co-founded company, employs many women in STEM roles. “Influenster is dedicated to supporting female students in fulfilling their dreams of becoming leaders in their respective fields," says Elizabeth Scherle, co-Founder & President of Bazaarvoice-owned Influenster - a product discovery and reviews platform with nearly six million community members worldwide.
Here we meet some of the winners of the Women in STEM scholarships.
Chiamaka Nwokeocha, Bachelor of Science Public Health, Pre-Med concentration, Georgia State University
In addition to her work in STEM, Chiamaka [pictured above] is a photographer, India Arie superfan, proud Nigerian, and YouTuber with excellent college advice.
"Being a black woman in STEM has not been easy, but with hard work and passion, I’ll come out with my dreams accomplished," she says.
Dannia Thorpe, Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University
"Building [a] robot and seeing it actually walk and complete the task I designed it for gave me more confidence to pursue an engineering career. Having a strong support system and hearing constant encouragement from my english teacher, and many other teachers as well, also helped motivate me to continue to learn about and pursue STEM," says Dannia.
Sadhana Lolla, Science Math and Computer Science Magnet Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Sadhana has founded a volunteer organization to mentor underserved and minority middle school students, and established a coding class for girls at a local library and received grants from NCWIT.
"I'm thrilled to receive this award and I hope to continue working to promote women in STEM in the future!" she adds.
Binqui Chen, Human Science and Public Health / Pre-Med, Georgetown University
Binqui immigrated to the United States at age six and became a naturalized citizen last year. She speaks three different dialects of Chinese.
"True equity requires us to embrace and help flourish intersectionality within STEM. We must fight harder for women, across all racial and socioeconomic dimensions," she explains.
Veronica Gore, Bachelor of Science in Environmental & Earth Sciences, University of North Carolina Charlotte
"I believe that the best way to help the Women in STEM initiative is to educate people on the challenges that women in the STEM field still face to this day. Teach girls from a young age that they are just as powerful as men and that their voice can change the world. This can be done through simply having a conversation. Ask girls about their dreams, listen, and empower."
Anna Madison, Environmental Toxicology, University of California, Davis
On a volunteer trip to Panama with the Girl Scouts in high school, Maddison opened her eyes to a view of environmentalism inclusive of complex factors such as industry, culture and government. She decided soon after to devote her studies to the emergent field of Environmental Toxicology, with interest in further exploring the negative impact of synthetic molecules on aquatic life, or the consequences of pesticides on lung and heart health.
“Having women role models, mentors, and supporters was instrumental in my life, and in the future, I want to provide that same encouragement for other young women in any way I can - donating to scholarships such as these, advocating tours for Girl Scouts and female STEM clubs at my place of employment, and answering any questions I’m asked," Anna explains.
Aysha Zaher, Genetics, Health & Society, Rutgers-New Brunswick University
After the tragic and untimely death of her three-day-old sister who was born in Trinidad and Tobago, Zaher chose to turn fear and anger into action by pursuing a major in Genetics, with an interest in further understanding the differences in healthcare systems worldwide, particularly third-world countries. She ultimately plans to pursue a dual MD/PhD with the hopes of improving access to care for all people, regardless of race, gender or creed.
She comments that "...the best way to bring more women into STEM is to motivate everyone that you meet and once one person dives into male dominated fields, others will follow. It requires persistence, determination, and the understanding that you are capable of anything and that you are special - from one woman to another - which will allow more women to have the confidence and need to enter fields in STEM.”
Betta Delsordo, Computer Science and Spanish, University of Montana
Growing up in a small rural community, Lyon-Delsordo had little exposure to women working in technology, but through personal interest and conviction, she taught herself to code. With an interest in addressing difficult community issues, she worked with a team to create an app geared towards suicide prevention in her state, and mentored other young women in developing technical solutions geared at tackling other complex issues. She’s received two President’s Volunteer Service Awards for her efforts.
“I love technology and travel, and I’m currently working my dream job as a digital nomad: traveling and living with host families while building websites for a startup back in Montana. I want to spend my career breaking down the gender and language barriers in the tech world, so that everyone can have these same opportunities, and the power to make change in their own communities," Betta says.
Jennifer Kisabeth, Civil Engineering, University of Kentucky
After a six-year enlistment in the United States Navy, where she was tasked with the deployment of surveillance systems to track submarines, Kisabeth realized her passion for the world’s waterways extended even beyond her time served on a ship. She made the difficult decision to return to college to study Civil Engineering, with an aim to help lower health risks associated with unsanitary drinking water. She wants to use her personal lessons learned through life’s twists and turns to inspire women to dream big and pursue their passions.
She comments: “I grew up believing that I was terrible at math and that this was a personal trait that could not be changed. Calculus was my biggest fear entering the College of Engineering. I have overcome and completed all Calculus requirements, even now tutoring Calculus to others."
Shaina Raklyar, Biomedical Informatics, New York City College of Technology
Inspired by her mother, who was a single parent working as an engineer in Kiev, Ukraine and earning only $4 per day to support her family, Raklyar has been persistent in her pursuit of scientific studies through continued personal hardship that almost left her homeless in New York. She is an avid researcher and presenter, who is passionate about using data to help people communicate more effectively, whether they're from different cultures or have disabilities.
“Fun fact about myself: in high school, when I didn’t think about getting a career in STEM, I read a book “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!” and had a dream inspired by that book. I was in the Feynman’s head, speaking to all the famous physicists. It was so strange and exciting at the same time! I recalled this dream years after, when I started to apply to the physics graduate school. So my overall advice is to follow your dreams,” she concludes.
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Disclosure: Where Women Work researches and publishes insightful evidence about how its paid member organizations support women's equality.