We were lucky to catch up with Nithya Achanta and Jie Wang recently and have shared our conversation below.
Nithya Achanta and Jie Wang, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
As middle schoolers, we were disheartened by the small proportion of girls participating in STEM-related events, clubs, and opportunities. Given the opportunity to travel for some STEM events, we also noticed a lack of diversity in this field, especially from the South. We felt that something should be done to bridge this divide for young girls, as these resources and opportunities should be available and accessible to everyone. As we grew older and learned more through running STEM4fem and other experiences, we realized more and more how important this purpose is, and especially how relevant it is in our society now, where technology is changing so quickly and entering so many fields. Additionally, while technology brings so many more opportunities that did not exist in the past, it highlights a lot of disparities especially in areas with less access in terms of education. As both of us go through college, our purpose in terms of STEM4fem has definitely been refined and further developed, and we are excited to implement changes to serve our purpose as much as possible.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
STEM4fem is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to motivating young girls, particularly in the Memphis area, to pursue STEM-related fields. We want to provide resources and opportunities for them to learn more about how to use STEM skills, develop leadership skills, and speak with women in the field. Something we feel is special about STEM4fem is that we want to specifically focus on helping our participants apply STEM to real life, in some way that makes an impact on the community around them. We feel that this is a way to help them discover the positive impact they can bring about using these skills. Whether our participants end up pursuing STEM in the future or not, we are very happy to see them using the skills they develop through STEM4fem or thinking in a way to help benefit the community, something we really value.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Looking back, three qualities that were most impactful in our journey were confidence, organization, and determination. Starting any business requires confidence, as you need to invest a lot of time and energy into a project that is completely new. Without the confidence that the business will be feasible, it would not be possible to push forward the idea. For us, especially since we started working on STEM4fem as middle schoolers, confidence was not only important for us individually, but it was also important so that we could get others to support our vision. We reached out to a lot of different community leaders in the Memphis area and set up meetings to explain what we wanted to do, and this required us to be very confident and organized for others to see that we were worth investing their time in. This brings us to the second quality: organization. Being organized was especially important for us to show adults that we were reliable and professional, but it applies to any business journey. Being organized and reliable makes it more likely that others will want to work with you, which is essential for expanding your business. The third quality we feel is very important is determination. We both were very determined to make our vision a reality, and we were very passionate about what we were doing. We think that this genuine passion was not only something that propelled us to think outside the box and really work hard towards our goal, but that it was also something others could sense, so those who worked with us were also very passionate people determined to help us in our goals.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Yes! We are currently working to expand and restructure, and we would love to work with a variety of different organizations and people who are passionate about what we do. We are looking to collaborate with all kinds of people such as those from educational organizations, STEM organizations such as coding or tech organizations, and organizations committed to fostering diversity. Additionally, we are always looking for sponsors to partner with, so we can continue to provide resources, opportunities, and awards to our students. If you feel connected with our mission in any way, please reach out to us at stem4fem@gmail.com !
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.stem4fem.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stem4fem/?hl=en
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/STEM4femMemphis
