The girls of STEM

DEORA

Deora Inniss is everything that’s right about Illinois 4-H. The 18-year-old member from Knoxville uses what she knows to improve situations and solve problems. Deora tutors young people in chemistry, biology, and anatomy at her high school and teaches Extension STEM workshops for National Youth Science Day. A member of the Binary Bullets Robotics Club, she will help design the 2019 Illinois 4-H State Robotics Challenge.

“In STEM, you meet new people from different backgrounds working on a similar goal. You learn there can be so many different outcomes and ways to solve one problem,” Deora says. “People’s eyes sparkle when they talk about the amazing innovation and passion of STEM discoveries.”

Deora is not just smart and inquisitive; she’s kind. At a recent robotics competition, she was providing tours for groups when she learned several in the group spoke limited English. While a teammate took the lead, Deora stayed with the group and translated the tour into Spanish so everyone could learn from the tour.

“By the time I was done, a little 9-year-old had wrapped her arms around me and told me she wanted to be like me and speak both English and Spanish so she could help others, too,” Deora said. “As her parents cried and smiled, I told her that whatever she set out to do she would achieve.”

Deora plans to attend University of Illinois at Springfield majoring in biochemistry, followed by going to medical school on her way to becoming an obstetrician.

ALLISON

4-H alum Allison Pratt believes STEM is the future. “Every day, something new is happening with technology,” she says, “and the world needs people who understand it.”

A 10-year member of the Graymont Achievers 4-H Club, Allison teaches science at the Fairbury Boys and Girls Club and mentors a robotics club in Bloomington. She has helped design the state robotics challenge for two years and is forming a new robotics competition team. “STEM inspires youth to think outside the box.”

Allison encourages girls to pursue STEM careers, because they often bring a fresh insight to issues that businesses need.

AJA

Aja Capel says STEM allows her to use her out-of-the-box thinking and problem-solving strengths. She enjoys engineering the best. “Engineering is not an individual endeavor, rather, a collaborative team effort where we strive to bring form and function together to solve problems.”

Aja is a member of Invader Bots, a 4-H robotics club which also competes as a FIRST FTC team. She teaches robotics at the Orpheum Children’s Science Museum in Urbana, and is interning with the Champaign-Urbana Community Fab Lab. Aja started her own organization, See Me in STEM, that partners with other community organization to provide exposure, access, and opportunities to under-represented youth.

“Robotics is my passion,” says Aja. “In robotics, building is the form and programming is the function; together you get synergy—creating a whole that is greater than each part alone. I am a roboticist.

“The coolest thing about sharing 4-H STEM experiences is cracking open the door to a world of possibilities for them,” she says. “I am passionate about standing in the STEM gap and providing a bridge. I am having an immense impact on the world around me. It is important to me that underrepresented youth see me, especially since I have been where they are.”

Aja will enroll in college at 16 and study mechanical engineering with a concentration in robotics. Currently, she is considering opportunities that small engineering schools offer with experiential, project-based learning. She is considering an engineering design degree from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

“Girls should dream big and follow their own unique path,” Aja says. “Nothing I have ever done has been ordinary or the usual way, but I wouldn’t change a thing, because the ride has been exhilarating and a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.”