Kathrine

Hi everyone, and welcome to STEM Stories Project, an initiative to share honest insights into the real experiences in STEM studies and careers. Today I'm so excited to be speaking with Rebecca Wang, who is an undergraduate studying engineering at Notre Dame University. In this conversation, we'll be talking about how she became interested in STEM, what her path has actually looked like, the projects and experiences that shaped her, and also the advice that she has for students who are exploring their own interests.

So thank you so much for joining us today, Rebecca. Before we begin, could you introduce yourself and tell us one fact about yourself that is unrelated to your field of study?

Rebecca

All right, so hello everyone. As you all probably know, my name is Rebecca. I just graduated from high school, so I'm an incoming undergrad at Notre Dame studying chemical engineering, for now.

And one interesting fact outside of STEM is that I really like to read. So if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me on my Facebook page.

Kathrine

Okay, awesome. Well, let's get started then. Was there a specific class, teacher, project, book, video camp, or like anything that first sparked your interest in STEM and chemical engineering?

Rebecca

So my interest in engineering first started with the YouTuber Mark Rober. I remember as a middle schooler and elementary schooler, opening up YouTube and his videos would always be the first one I'd go and look for, especially his new releases. I'd watch it like two hours after he'd just finished a new video.

I remember the first one I've ever watched from him was the glitter bomb video, and after that I was hooked.

Kathrine

So would you say that was like the specific moment you thought, I want to learn more about this, or like you actually want to be involved in that kind of process?

Rebecca

So Mark Rober was the kind of the starting point, the jumping pad, where I knew that I wanted to learn more about engineering as a whole, because as a YouTuber, he made videos in a lot of fields from chemistry and chemical engineering, from his elephant toothpaste videos, to to build like a squirrel maze, or the glitter bombs, the sequels to the glitter bombs.

Kathrine

So before this middle school experience, like did you always see yourself as a STEM person, or was that an identity that developed over time?

Rebecca

So prior to middle school, I was more of a math person. I didn't know I liked science and technology part until after middle school, when I was introduced more into the, when I had more hands-on experience and more resources to explore like science experiments and like Arduino technologies and such.

Kathrine

So do you remember like what experience or what program it was that finally allowed you to explore those experiments and like the Arduino that you mentioned?

Rebecca

So in middle school, it started with in middle school, a club that allowed us to explore the 30 Days in Space Arduino set. And in middle school, that was really the extent of my STEM introduction. But starting high school in ninth grade, I attended the Penn Society of Women Engineers Gears Day, where I learned about many more fields of engineering, such as a chemical engineering and computer engineering, where we got to play with more Arduinos.

We could, we got to do some cool chemistry experiments. And they taught us about polymers, which I thought was really, really interesting.

Kathrine

Oh, so specifically, now that you introduced polymers, like what exactly about polymers was super interesting to you?

Rebecca

I think polymers, the interesting part at that time, I thought was the properties of the polymers and how, depending on the orientation, the polymers had could do many different things and had many different properties, such as like water repelling and sometimes sticky. So I thought that was very interesting.

Kathrine

So after you began high school, what was the path between starting high school and now entering college? Like what classes, clubs, internships, labs, jobs or experiences kind of led you to where you are right now?

Rebecca

So my high school experience at STEM started with the AASE Summer Academy, where I was introduced to different topics in STEM and the leading technology at that time, which really piqued my interest in biomedical engineering and fields related to that. So the next year, I looked for internships related to that. And I also was interested in physics at the time.

So the first internship I found was doing quantum material science, actually, at the University of Maryland, which was a really good first time experience because minimal, it was minimal lab training required. Unless we were doing like photolithography, which as high school, I was not allowed to enter that lab, but it was really interesting helping with like the more basic work, like, I'm sorry, the more basic work, like looking for crystal slabs that were of the right thickness to create a layer in an experiment. So it was really cool to see that some of the things that I found on a little silicone chip were actually being used in real experiments.

Kathrine

Oh, wow. So in this internship, can you like, can you describe some of the challenges that you encountered like first securing this internship and then also like while executing it?

Rebecca

So in securing this internship, it was just cold emails. So I just told them, I was like, I'm high school, I'm interested in this. And after the professor reached out, we set a schedule of when I would be at the lab, and then we started.

I think one of the more difficult things at that lab is the fact that if you're in high school and you're working in a lab, you're really being taken, you're getting, you're being taken under the wing of either a postdoctor or a doctorate student there who's looking for their doctorate, a student looking for their doctorate degree. And as a result, they don't usually have that much time to teach you. So you kind of have to like, kind of shatter them and learn as you go.

The learning curve is definitely like the most, the hardest, but also the most important. The learning curve in labs is super steep. But once you do get the hang of it, it becomes much easier.

Like whatever your doctorate student does makes a lot more sense.

Kathrine

Oh, awesome. So can you discuss like any other internships or jobs that you have held that really helped you along your STEM journey?

Rebecca

Yeah. So after my quantum physics and quantum materials internship, I found an internship the next summer at a biomechanical engineering lab, which was a little bit more different because this one was a wet lab. They had living cells growing in growth mediums, which was another really steep learning curve because coming from a dry lab where there's nothing living there, it was just material etching, to one where I had to be careful of everything I did because if I made a mistake, that means the entire sample would be contaminated with something.

It was another very steep learning curve. But there I also learned that these experiments were, well, unreliable for one, but also highly fascinating when the experiment is undertaken with care and produces a result.

Kathrine

Wow. So these are all like very, very technical aspects of this field, obviously. So another question is, what have you explored in high school itself?

Classes and clubs at your school that really helped you be on the path that you are right now?

Rebecca

In terms of classes and clubs, I'd say some of the most important classes that I took at school were probably my writing classes and my science classes. So in my science classes, it was all the interesting experiments. We did PCR and we also did like titrations, all the interesting chemical biology labs.

But also in writing, we were learning how to more effectively construct arguments, which during my time interning at labs and watching graduate students write research paper, I realized that this was probably one of the most important parts of being in STEM and research and being a scientist in general, because without the ability to effectively communicate your results, the best research is still just research in a lab. It has no impact on the world.

Kathrine

So I guess that is part of an answer to what students who are interested in STEM should be developing as a skill early on. Do you think there's any other skills that they need to be developing that will really give them a leg up in this field?

Rebecca

So in this field, one of the most important things is being open minded and curious. In research in general, a lot of the times you're either, most of the times you're actually looking at previous research and then coming up with new ideas based on other people's research. You're not formulating like this entirely new experiment from just out of thin air as a lot of sci-fi movies sometimes portray it as.

Instead, you're looking at research that has come before you, research from your peers, other professors and such, and you're looking through these science journals. And from there, you're asking questions that they haven't explored. So one really important thing is to be flexible, be curious about things that you think could be different, and to most importantly, pursue these questions.

Because once you get into the areas of engineering, STEM research, not everything has an answer already.

Kathrine

Did you ever pursue a project that didn't seem to have an answer?

Rebecca

Although I didn't really do a direct project myself, I helped some of the PhD students with theirs looking at drugs such as metformin and other, I guess it'd be other inflammation and regional anesthetics and their influence on chondrocyte cells. And it was just a lot of experimenting with how each drug would affect this specific type of cell. So it was very interesting.

Kathrine

That does sound quite interesting. I've read a lot about the drug metformin and how it's actually helped people who are ill live longer than their otherwise healthy counterparts because they are taking this drug. So shifting onto a slightly different topic, can you tell us what your daily schedule actually looks like?

When are you getting up? What are you doing throughout your day? And when are you getting back and relaxing, if that happens?

Rebecca

Are you asking in terms of schooling high school or in terms of lab internships and such?

Kathrine

That'd be great if you could give us like an account of both of those.

Rebecca

Okay. So in high school, school typically starts at like 8am in the morning. So I get through my school day and after extracurriculars would usually be back home by like maybe five o'clock.

And then after that, it would just be the homework. And then usually I have some time to relax, but also not much. So I usually try to make the most of it.

Although sometimes the homework is very interesting, especially the science, math, and the engineering class I had this year.

Kathrine

Oh wow.

Rebecca

Yeah. So for the engineering class, which I thought gave the most interesting homeworks, well, it was mostly based on real life or project-based. So we would be given a problem about, for instance, a bridge.

And we'd be required to find the stress and strain on each part of the bridge and decide whether the material could take it. Or we would be making a project. For instance, we made race cars.

So that was always very interesting. I always looked forward to those projects.

Kathrine

So when you were interning, what would a typical schedule look like for you? Like what activities would you be doing at certain times throughout the day?

Rebecca

So you would usually, so interning at lab was like, it's like your typical, not typical, it would be like your nine to five hours. You get to the lab at nine and in the morning you would start preparing for experiments. Actually, I'll give you an account of my biomechanical engineering lab experience.

On our most interesting days, we would get shipments of veal joints where, so we would spend the morning prepping these joints for dissection and harvest and prepping the joints for dissection. So that involved cleaning out the, cleaning the materials that would be used later, prepping the joints, disinfecting everything and getting ready for the dissection. Then after lunch and after these joints had been sitting in the cleaning fluid for a little while, we'd go into the biofume hood, stick everything in there and then start harvesting small samples, small, yeah, small samples of these, of the cartilage on the joints.

And then the entire afternoon would usually be spent processing these, these small pieces into uniform sizes for experiments and essentially dividing, dividing cell layers, whatever it was.

Kathrine

So from my personal experience, like I've seen that in a wet lab, there's often very busy days and then also stretches of like several days where you're not doing anything at all. You're basically waiting for like some sort of culture to grow or something. So on those maybe less glamorous days, like how, like what was the experience like?

Rebecca

Yeah, they're definitely less glamorous days because for, for wet lab experience, it's a lot of experiments. It's just a lot of waiting for different experiments to mature, which usually takes like weeks. So for the less glamorous days, most of the time is spent looking at prior research, looking through research papers, planning, either the experiments that you will conduct on this batch of, this batch of experimental units or looking into a new experiment you would do afterwards.

So these days were not idle, even though like during those days you could take more breaks, but yeah, they were not idle. You'd spend time cleaning the lab, changing air vents because in wet labs, you need very good ventilation to maintain the integrity of the samples. So yeah, it was still pretty busy.

So throughout your, oh yeah.

Kathrine

So throughout your STEM journey, you've obviously participated in many things. So I'm curious, like how did you come across all of these opportunities?

Rebecca

A lot of these opportunities I found through the AASE junior mentorship program, but also many of these I found just through like quick Google searches, like you can even use AI and then cold emailing professors, like labs and just kind of introducing yourself, telling them that you're interested in their research and asking if there's a possibility that you could, if you come in for a week or like come in for a day in shadow and then kind of building, building a relationship with the lab and then maybe getting an internship there too.

Kathrine

Oh, so can you like describe the process between like cold emailing them, then shadowing and then ultimately transforming that into an internship?

Rebecca

Yeah, I'll talk about my latest internship actually. So for this internship, I was told to directly email the director. And after that, we had correspondence where I was then invited to do an interview.

And after the interview, I guess my performance was assessed or something during the interview, I don't really know what was going on there. But they were asking me a lot of questions about what I was interested in, what interested me about, what I was interested in about in their research, what they're doing. And then after the interview and some time waiting, I was offered a position at the company as a green hydrogen intern, which I thought was really interesting because I was interested in the water electrolysis aspect of the lab, but I didn't actually think I'd get a position after the interview.

But yeah, it was, this one was just like cold emailing, preparing what I was interested in, like the topics I was interested in beforehand, and kind of like getting about me, about me speech or something. It really isn't that, it's not that, it's not that difficult. Don't overthink it too much.

Just be you kind of, and just, just tell them about your curiosity, because in high school and in undergrad, curiosity in the topic at the lab itself goes a long way. If the professor, if the, who the researcher can tell that you are truly interested in the topic, they will be more than happy to help you and get, get you an internship so you can learn more. Because as the people working in the labs loved their research, they love seeing other people love their research too.

Kathrine

Well, that sounds like some great news for a lot of aspiring scientists then. So onto a different topic, identity, background, and belonging. Did you ever feel like you did or did not belong in certain STEM spaces?

And if so, could you elaborate on it?

Rebecca

So STEM itself, especially engineering and some related fields are a little bit difficult because they are male, predominantly male dominated. So even I can see this, even in my engineering class, we have about 20 students and only four are female. So yeah, sometimes I look around that class and I'm shocked by the lack of female representation.

But at the same time, I know that this probably reflects the real world, but this knowledge also is almost irrelevant because I know as long as I am curious, if I do my work and if I'm dedicated, this, this disparity really does not affect me as much because I'm confident in what I can do and I deliver. And that's the best proof that you can have.

Kathrine

So what barriers do you think students right now are facing when they are trying to enter STEM?

Rebecca

A lot of barriers are surrounding like how the stereotype that science and math is hard is nerdy. And to be truthful, it really isn't. Science and mathematics technology requires, yes, it requires a different way of thinking.

But this way of thinking is also the way that follows like someone's curiosity. So one of these, so this area is really, I hate to say it, like almost society's stereotypically imposed. I encourage people to look past it and to follow their curiosity, follow their passions and just go for it.

It's, it's harmless. Promise.

Kathrine

So how do you think STEM spaces could become more accessible and welcoming then?

Rebecca

So I see this a lot, especially in like sci-fi movies, like you see like the lab and it's full of all these weird instruments that look like they could kill you. But I promise, no, no, they will not hurt you. They're just for the experiments.

They're very benign. But I think that along those same lines, one thing that STEM spaces could change is they could make their spaces seem more approachable and especially towards the younger generation, like elementary and middle schoolers, and kind of pique their interest in STEM, not just in the lab, but outside of the lab through like informative play that allows these children to explore their curiosity in science while also being able to have fun.

Kathrine

So onto our last section, which is advice for students. What advice would you give to high school students who are interested in STEM, but unsure of exactly where to start?

Rebecca

For students who are interested in STEM, but unsure of exactly where to start, I know this is probably not very great for the environment, but one way you can start is by asking AI, telling AI like, hey, these are my interests. I'm interested in STEM. This is what I like doing at school.

This is what I like doing outside of school. Please tell me a couple of engineering STEM fields that I might like. And then after you get like a list, go research them online, look into what labs are doing, what research is being done in this current topic or in this current field, and see if anything interests you.

And then from there, see if you can find a lab that you can reach out to and ask a professor for like an interview or a shadow day to see exactly what this lab does and then see where your curiosity takes you.

Kathrine

And finally, what do you think is one small step that a student could take this month to explore your field of engineering?

Rebecca

To explore my field of engineering? Honestly, I think the best place to start might be on the online, like look through YouTube videos, like cool builds and see what piques your interest, kind of like look around, see what there is. And then once you see what you're interested in, see if you can find a professor or mentor that is willing to show you more of the field.

And then just follow your curiosity. There's really nothing, you can't go wrong with that.

Kathrine

Okay. Well, thank you so much, Rebecca Wang, for sharing your story with us today. I really appreciated hearing about your studies in engineering, but also listening to your nonlinear path that bridged many different internship experiences in various fields, including the challenges and turning points along your path.

And for everybody watching, I hope that this conversation gave you a more honest look at what following engineering can actually look like, not just the achievements, but also the questions, projects, mentorship, and growth behind them. And thank you again for joining us, Rebecca, and thank you to everybody watching. Yeah, no problem.

Thank you so much.