On Thursday, November 6, 2025, forty-three students from the Arlington Career Center attended the STEM for Her Day conference held at the University of Maryland, College Park. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors participated in hands-on activities that encouraged problem-solving, collaboration, and strategic thinking. They also connected not only with students from other schools, but also with female leaders involved in STEM fields. The event welcomed all girls, even those whose academic interests differed from STEM disciplines, creating an environment for exploring and learning about different perspectives.
As someone whose academic interests are far from STEM, I hesitated to attend. I did not see why I should go. “Why not go?” Ms. Monica asked me, and, curious about what I might discover, I finally decided to go. We had to arrive and be there at 9:00 a.m., but we ran late due to some traffic and due to some students who did not check their emails in advance (ahem… me!).
Arlington Tech students arrived at 9:30 a.m. The first thing that greeted us when we arrived at the meeting room was women in STEM finishing speeches and motivational words for all the students. We missed most of the beginning of the event, but we arrived just in time for the group activities, where each student picked up small cards with different areas of study, such as statistics and medicine. The possibilities were endless. Some of the girls split out with their friends, and others had to do it themselves. We went to different rooms, and my topic was how to create better payment strategies in large venues such as stadiums. We analyzed numbers, sales, and formats; based on that information, we deduced what was most convenient for the people and for the stadium itself. 
After the activity, we moved forward to lunch. The tables were labeled with different disciplines like mathematics, engineering, technology, and science. What made this lunch special was that we had the opportunity to speak with a woman already involved in one of these fields! My friends and I sat at the “Technology” table. The name of this successful woman who sat down with us is Jay Ervin, a software engineer and cybersecurity analyst.
Jay Ervin, an engineer and guest speaker, spoke with each of us. What stood out most about the experiences she mentioned was that she did not go straight to college when she finished high school, but instead, she got to the workforce. Ervin mentioned that the workforce gave her the opportunity to discover what she really wanted to do. She also talked not only about her successful career but also about her struggles.
“I am young, a woman, and a person of color, so it was hard to get respect in this field that is mainly dominated by men… knowledge is something that they can’t take from you. If you let them, they’ll do.”
According to Ervin, assisting in events like STEM For Her is important because you can network, learn experiences, and also spark interest to see if it’s something that you may not know about this field that you are very interested in. 
She describes these events as “lovely” because you never know what opportunities can emerge.
For our last activity, we selected new cards and moved into different rooms once again. This time, I joined a session led by a group of female engineers. The presentation was extremely interesting. They introduced us to the fundamentals of construction management, explaining the roles of key players on a project and the importance of personal protective equipment. Then, they unfolded real plans they were currently working on, detailed blueprints that showed mechanical systems, structural layouts, and the layers of decision-making behind every design.
All these experiences, all this knowledge, were something I had not considered before. What was the point of attending an event that was unrelated to my interests? Even though some topics were complex for me, I could feel the bond that exists between women who share a common interest. Every experience, every challenge, and every dream leads us to who we are today. STEM is not just a set of disciplines; it is stories that become possible. That is what I learned that day.
