DEBUNKED: "I'm not a STEM person"

When the college mail was starting for me, back in sophomore year, I received a black envelope with my name and address written on it in silver faux handwriting. Other Uni students probably received it as well. It invited me to join the Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders, which cost $985. The most hilarious part was when it said it was inviting me because of my “outstanding academic achievement” and “determination to serve humanity in the field of science and technology". I never and still don’t consider myself to be particularly skilled or passionate in most STEM fields.

A prime example of this is how, like a lot of kids, I didn’t enjoy math. It was something boring to do in elementary school and middle school, and something tedious and frustrating in high school. My grades stayed fine, but my feelings toward the subject soured. In freshman year I took Math 2 and was, at best, tolerating it. Sophomore year was a bit better, but also the most frustrating. Sometimes there'd be moments of clarity, and I'd find a concept fascinating, but just as soon as that happened there'd be a unit I had to spend hours upon hours on simply to understand.

I’ve also never much liked (and still don’t like) science classes. Science never interested me like it interested other people. Either the material was too unengaging or too difficult to grasp fully. It was the very first thing I ruled out when I started to think about what career fields I was interested in.

So when 15-year-old me saw the words ‘science and technology’ I laughed.

Funnily enough, 15-year old me would soon proceed to decide to take Accelerated Calculus junior year. I was a little worried that it’d be too much for me, but as the weeks went by, I was pleasantly surprised. I’m actually really enjoying the class. Concepts make more sense and the problems we solve are more interesting. (Although, anything is more interesting than factoring drills.)

This perspective shift has bled into how I view my science class too. I’m currently taking physics. Sometimes I hate it. I run into the same problem I faced in other science classes, where I’m not sure exactly how everything comes together. But at the same time, physics is probably my favorite (or least un-favorite) science class at Uni. Why? Because it uses math. Even if I don’t get the concept right away, I can still figure out the math part and then work my way back to understand the concept. That has made me appreciate math (and science) even more.

I’ve never thought of myself as a math or science person. I find I categorize myself like that often, into types of people. I’m a ‘liberal arts person’ more than a “STEM person’.

But I think this kind of mentality can put limits on yourself. If you label yourself as not a ‘math person’ or not a ‘science person’, you miss opportunities. As I’ve realized that the label of ‘not a math person’ was too hasty and simplistic, I’ve wished I’d been more involved in math in the past.

To be clear, I’m still not into science. Even if the Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders was highly prestigious and didn’t cost $985, I wouldn’t have attended. That’s the advantage of categorizing yourself into types of people: you can know yourself better, and thus not make stupid decisions like attend a fishy summer program.

However, I’ve kept the envelope and all 8 pages of its contents. I’ve done so in part because I still find it hilarious. But I think it also works as a good reminder that all kinds of opportunities, however out there, are still open to me. I shouldn’t cut them off before learning more.

If you'd like to know more about the Congress of Future Sciene and Technology Leaders, read this article: Don't expect this 'award' to help you enter college