1
00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:11,999
VO: This is episode 257 of IDRA
Classnotes. [music]
2
00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:48,999
Lea Rosenauer: Sometimes I'm asked in
robotics clubs why the girls don't want
to learn coding. And I challenge that
just because a girl sits back, maybe
thinks about it differently before
putting forth an idea doesn't mean that
they don't want to try or learn. And you
have to create that environment that
allows all students to thrive. And at
girls age, we create that environment.
And we intentionally put positive female
role models in the lives of girls.
[music]
3
00:00:49,000 --> 00:01:33,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: So happy to have
everybody joining our podcast today. I'm
so honored to invite our special guest
that's joining me today. I'm Dr.
Stephanie Garcia from IDRA, the STEM
Education Specialist, and I'm joined by
a dear friend of mine that's doing great
work in our community here in San
Antonio. I'd love to introduce everybody
to the president and CEO of Girls Inc.
of San Antonio, Lea Rosenauer. And Lea
leads the most incredible girls youth
development and leadership organization
that inspires girls to achieve their
full potential. I just thank you again,
Lea, for joining us as we talk about
more the issue around the state of women
and girls in STEM and what that means
for our programs at IDRA and Girls Inc.
Thank you again for joining.
4
00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:41,999
Lea Rosenauer: Of course, it's an honor
to be here. Thank you, Dr. Garcia. It's
important work that we all do together
in the community.
5
00:01:42,000 --> 00:02:24,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: 100%. We've got to
do it together. There's a lot of work to
do in community with each other, and I'm
so grateful to do that alongside of you.
Thinking about some of my prior
experiences before I came into IDRA as a
middle school science teacher, working
with girls, I saw a confidence shift
almost in real time. And I saw the
brilliant girls that I had in my science
club start to kind of question
themselves. And again, it was never, and
we talked about this a lot in our prior
episode, but it was not about the girls'
ability to do the work. It was all about
their perception and their confidence.
And one of the questions I wanted to
start with, from your perspective at
Girls Inc., when does that confidence
usually shift?
6
00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:25,999
Lea Rosenauer: Too early. [laughter]
7
00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:27,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: Too early, yes.
8
00:02:28,000 --> 00:03:34,999
Lea Rosenauer: Yeah, there was a study a
few years ago that really parallels the
current study that talks about girls as
early as age like nine don't believe
that they are brilliant enough to have
their dream job, whatever that might be.
They are just living with such input
after input after input, an example
after example of perfect girls who know
everything, who never make a mistake,
who always seem confident. And girls in
fourth, fifth, and definitely in middle
school feel that if they're not like
that in that comparison, then they're
not good enough. They're not smart
enough. At Girls Inc., we start with the
basic premise that all girls have
strengths. They don't have to earn them
or learn them. They just have them. That
they are inherently strong. I just have
to say our mission is to inspire all
girls to be strong, smart, and bold. If
anyone listening has ever met me in real
life, I will always say that all girls
are strong, smart, and bold.
9
00:03:35,000 --> 00:04:17,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: Yes, I remember
that when I first met you, and I'm
wearing red for Girls Inc. today,
because it's just that confidence, that
power that-- we have that already. And
that's why when I was reading the NGCP
report about the state of girls and
women in STEM, it's just disheartening
when you see that 57% don't believe that
they're smart enough, or they fear being
bossy or being perceived as bossy. And
that decline happening as early as
elementary, like you were saying, it's
something that we've really got to talk
about. That confidence gap. And I was
wondering, what ways does Girls Inc.
intentionally rebuild that confidence
for young girls and women? What are you
doing there in that organization?
Because it's needed. It's needed.
10
00:04:18,000 --> 00:06:04,999
Lea Rosenauer: It's [needed?]. It's one
girl, one relationship at a time. I
mean, we provide programming in the
out-of-school time space. So
after-school weekends, summer, spring
break, evenings. We want girls safe,
engaged, learning. And what we get to do
is we start with saying, "It's not that
you can't do it. It's that you can't do
it yet." We have to try again. We
celebrate failure. We celebrate making a
mistake. It's [inaudible] nonjudgmental,
"Hey, let's do it differently. Hey, we
thought about this." Too often, the
girls are with adults who are solving
the problems for them or not letting
them make mistakes or not letting them
try again because of time constraints
[inaudible]-- sometimes I'm asked in
robotics clubs why the girls don't want
to learn coding. And I'm like, "What
makes you say they don't want to learn
to code the [robotics?] problem?"
Because they always want to do-- what
I'm told is the girls want to do the
research and make the display. And I
challenge that. And I challenge that by
saying, "What environment are you
creating so that every student has the
ability to ask questions, to try
something? Just because a girl sits
back, maybe thinks about it differently
before putting forth an idea, doesn't
mean that they don't want to try or
learn. And you have to create that
environment that allows all students to
thrive." And at Girls Inc., we create
that environment. And we intentionally
put positive female role models in the
lives of girls. If you've never seen a
female engineer-- I mean, why would you?
Maybe you just haven't met a female
engineer. Why would [crosstalk] jobs for
you?
11
00:06:05,000 --> 00:07:05,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: That's so true.
It's not about the academic skill. It's
about the identity and belonging.
Confidence isn't a personality trait.
It's built through experience,
belonging, and affirmation is what I'm
hearing. That you're doing all of that
in your programming at Girls Inc, and
that's what builds confidence. That's
what helps create that environment for
them to thrive, to see themselves like
that. We've got to create those safe
learning environments. You talked about
mentorship and that power of
representation, and that shifts identity
too, right? We think about all the
research - and I talk about that in our
article too - about the powerful role
that representation and mentorship plays
in a student's trajectory. I mean, it
flips trajectories. And that exposure
changes perception and that girls desire
to learn about STEM careers when they
see themselves in STEM, right? And I
want to tie that into Girls Inc.
mission, right? When girls see women who
look like them in STEM, that abstract
becomes attainable, don't you think?
12
00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:15,999
Lea Rosenauer: That's exactly right.
That's why I have the best job. Because
I get to put positive female role models
in all walks of life in the lives of
these girls. You can't become what you
don't see.
13
00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:23,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: Right. I'd love
for you to share more about that. Tell
me a story of a girl whose trajectory
shifted after they met a mentor, for
example.
14
00:07:24,000 --> 00:08:42,999
Lea Rosenauer: Exactly. I would love to.
And the other thing that girls tell me
is they're finally in a space with girls
who support them. This peer support is
also incredibly critical. For some of
our girls who join our Eureka Program,
our five-year STEM program-- we take
rising eighth graders who maybe for the
first time feel like they're not
different. There are other girls who
like to do this. There are other girls
who are interested in science. And for
the first time, they're like, "Wow, I'm
not weird or different." And just that
alone, that peer support like, "Yes,
we're doing this together." And then the
adult mentors who form those
relationships, who are there to tell the
students and the girls that they can be
successful, that you need to try again,
that you are capable, you just haven't
learned it yet, or you have to try a
different way. Intentionality comes up a
lot for us. Being intentional about how
we talk about science, how we talk about
women in STEM fields, how we
intentionally use examples. Like right
now, the Artemis Space Mission is the
first female astronaut who circled the
moon. Be intentional. Call that out so
that they can make that connection, "Oh,
oh, there's someone who looks like me up
in space. Wow."
15
00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:43,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: Yes. Yes. Exactly.
16
00:08:44,000 --> 00:09:10,999
Lea Rosenauer: The other thing the girls
love about their adult mentors is
learning about the mistakes we made.
None of our journeys have been a
straight line, have been perfect. And
the mentors share those experiences. And
the girls are like, "Wow. I don't have
to be perfect. Everyone tells me I need
to be perfect and know the answer
[crosstalk]." And the mentors that we
put into these girls' lives just help
keep it real and are always there to
support them.
17
00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:26,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: That's so crucial.
And I think that is really what
collaboration and impact looks like.
When you have people coming together to
build those supportive systems where
girls could really thrive and really be
accepted and feel seen, that's all so
important.
18
00:09:27,000 --> 00:10:29,999
Lea Rosenauer: And that's exactly what
happened with Abigail, who joined the
Eureka program and felt like she wasn't
alone anymore, that other girls liked
science. She found mentors in the
program who supported her. She found her
first science internship at UT San
Antonio Health, at the time it was the
Health Science Center, in a lab where
they were testing cannabis oil and its
effect on mood and hormones in mice,
[laughter] but accepted and was
fascinated. And the adults in the lab
listened to her. She got to do real
things. She could see herself in that
career. There's something called a STEM
identity. We want girls to just see
themselves as part of the STEM
ecosystem. "I can do that. I can help
people. I can solve problems." The NGCP
report talks about how girls really want
to be in helping professions. Well,
that's STEM. Let's talk about that.
Yeah. [crosstalk] all the time.
19
00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:32,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: Yeah. Exactly.
It's problem-solving.
20
00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:44,999
Lea Rosenauer: Problem-solving all the
time. And women and girls throughout
history have solved some of the hardest
problems. So being intentional about
that. So that's what we get to do in the
girls in space.
21
00:10:45,000 --> 00:11:21,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: Oh, that's
incredible. Yes. I mean, they talked
about that in the article and research
about how sometimes they may not be seen
as traditionally identifying with STEM,
but, no, they are. They're problem
solvers. They're looking at that social
impact, that direct impact. They're
doing research, high-level research that
they didn't think they could do before,
and they're doing it. And I love hearing
Abigail's story because, again, it's
changing the mentorship and creating
that environment where they're safe. It
changes their trajectory. Now they see
and hear about opportunity, but now they
have access to the opportunity. And
that's the game changer. And I think
that--
22
00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:26,999
Lea Rosenauer: I often say all the time
- you'll agree with this - talent may be
universal. Girls have talent, they have
skills. But access to opportunity is
not.
23
00:11:27,000 --> 00:12:35,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: Yes. Yes. It's
not, exactly. And that's why this work
matters so much for us, and it's our
why. I talked about that in our prior
episode of What's My Why? It's this.
It's that life-changing story of someone
like Abigail, right, that is now
accessing it, and has the tools that she
needs and the mentorship and support and
the environment she needs to thrive.
Running a lot of our STEM programs like
VisionCoders in schools, and a lot of
families say, "Hey, I see that my child
is interested in this, but what can I do
to support them in this pathway?" Like,
I don't know how I fit into this to
support them. And so I want to talk a
little bit more about that. What can
families and family-centered programming
do to really help shift into that
practical and empowering step and role
for their child? And I think that the
language-- I think you would agree with
this. The language that we use at home
about math and science, it matters more
than we realize. I want to hear more
about what you think about that language
happening in our homes and with our
families. What advice would you give our
families?
24
00:12:36,000 --> 00:13:10,999
Lea Rosenauer: First thing, assume girls
are good in science and math. Just
assume they're good. So many times we
tell ourselves we're not good in math.
Your aunt might say, "Oh, I'm not a math
person." And all of those little
comments get embedded in a fifth grader,
in a sixth grader. "Well, my mom's not
good at math. I'm not good at math." And
so just from the beginning, just assume
that your daughter, your granddaughter,
your niece, that they're good at math
and science. That's [crosstalk] fine.
Ask them, lean into their curiosity.
Lean into their curiosity.
25
00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:11,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: I love that.
26
00:13:12,000 --> 00:14:20,999
Lea Rosenauer: And that can be hard. I
wonder what happens when the recycling
is picked up. Lots of tools right now to
figure that out, to put that into a
Google Search. Lean into that curiosity.
Let's find out, instead of [crosstalk],
right? Remind girls that they need to
keep trying. It's not that you're not
good at it. You're just not good yet.
Let's figure that out. If you have the
opportunity and the ability, visit
museums together. You don't have to be
great at natural sciences. We can go to
the museum and learn together.
[crosstalk] exhibits together. Go to the
Botanical Garden and learn about botany
together. Be willing to be curious
yourself. And it's okay to be vulnerable
with your students and your daughters
and your granddaughters as well. Say,
You know something? Growing up for me
personally, algebra was difficult. And I
got scared, and I got nervous." But it's
okay to be vulnerable with my student
and say, "I felt like I couldn't do it.
And I asked for help. And it's okay to
feel like you can't do it. But how do
you get past that? Don't let that stop
you."
27
00:14:21,000 --> 00:15:48,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: That's so real. I
also struggled in some of my
higher-level math and science courses at
the university level. I was top 10% in
high school, and then it was a reality
check when I hit my university classes.
And I think that I would have benefited
so much of having somebody saying
struggle is part of learning. It's not
proof that you don't belong. You do
belong. It's just this is part of
learning. The struggle is okay. It's
okay to fail sometimes. And it's okay to
retake that class sometimes. And I think
having that comfortable and safe space
and a person that can encourage you like
that and cheer you on, those are some of
those small shifts that make really
great impact in our homes and in our
classrooms, right? Well, I know we're
almost out of time. Again, I know we
could talk about this all day. And I
know that this is what's energizing to
me is finding my people like you that in
our community doing the same work, where
we're encouraging our students and this
community-rooted work works. That's why
I wanted to invite you so much is
because part of our Alamo STEM
Ecosystem, the idea of co-leads here in
San Antonio, it's bringing all these
cross-sector folks, academia, industry,
our nonprofits, our community-based
work, and all getting in this alignment
together because there's so much impact
to be made here in our city. And I just
wanted to kind of leave with some of
this final thought of, are you hopeful
about the future of girls in STEM? And
what gives you that hope?
28
00:15:49,000 --> 00:16:16,999
Lea Rosenauer: Oh, what gives me that
hope is talking to the girls. I mean,
this work is one relationship at a time.
And when I get into conversations with
the girls who come to our center, who
come to summer camp, who are sharing
their dreams and feel supported, I know
we're in good hands. The future is
really, really bright. And it's the
students that keep me, the girls that
keep me grounded every day, all day.
29
00:16:17,000 --> 00:17:21,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: I couldn't agree
more. I couldn't agree more. And I just
want to leave our listeners with this,
that the question-- again, I know we had
started this conversation, Leah and I
back in 2019 when I first met Leah and
Girls Inc. of San Antonio, but the
question is not about whether girls
belong at STEM. They do. The question is
about whether we're building systems
that really reflect that truth. And so I
just want to leave that with our
listeners of what ways can you
contribute to building these systems
that support our girls and our women in
STEM, and who can you connect with? What
are some other like-minded folks, like
IDRA and Girls Inc. that's doing this
work and find your people to do that
community-rooted work because it works
and it matters. And so thank you again,
Leah, for joining us today. I truly
appreciate it. And we'll hopefully come
and invite you back again, and we can
keep this discussion going and keep
learning from each other and applying
these practices to our programs that
really are proven to work. And so thank
you again, and thank you for all the
work you're doing here in San Antonio.
And thank you, listeners, for joining
in, and we'll stay tuned for next time.
Thank you.
30
00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:27,999
VO: Thank you for listening to IDRA
Classnotes. For more information on IDRA
and other Classnotes topics, go to
www.idra.org. You can also send us your
thoughts by email to podcast@idra.org.
00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:11,999
VO: This is episode 257 of IDRA
Classnotes. [music]
2
00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:48,999
Lea Rosenauer: Sometimes I'm asked in
robotics clubs why the girls don't want
to learn coding. And I challenge that
just because a girl sits back, maybe
thinks about it differently before
putting forth an idea doesn't mean that
they don't want to try or learn. And you
have to create that environment that
allows all students to thrive. And at
girls age, we create that environment.
And we intentionally put positive female
role models in the lives of girls.
[music]
3
00:00:49,000 --> 00:01:33,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: So happy to have
everybody joining our podcast today. I'm
so honored to invite our special guest
that's joining me today. I'm Dr.
Stephanie Garcia from IDRA, the STEM
Education Specialist, and I'm joined by
a dear friend of mine that's doing great
work in our community here in San
Antonio. I'd love to introduce everybody
to the president and CEO of Girls Inc.
of San Antonio, Lea Rosenauer. And Lea
leads the most incredible girls youth
development and leadership organization
that inspires girls to achieve their
full potential. I just thank you again,
Lea, for joining us as we talk about
more the issue around the state of women
and girls in STEM and what that means
for our programs at IDRA and Girls Inc.
Thank you again for joining.
4
00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:41,999
Lea Rosenauer: Of course, it's an honor
to be here. Thank you, Dr. Garcia. It's
important work that we all do together
in the community.
5
00:01:42,000 --> 00:02:24,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: 100%. We've got to
do it together. There's a lot of work to
do in community with each other, and I'm
so grateful to do that alongside of you.
Thinking about some of my prior
experiences before I came into IDRA as a
middle school science teacher, working
with girls, I saw a confidence shift
almost in real time. And I saw the
brilliant girls that I had in my science
club start to kind of question
themselves. And again, it was never, and
we talked about this a lot in our prior
episode, but it was not about the girls'
ability to do the work. It was all about
their perception and their confidence.
And one of the questions I wanted to
start with, from your perspective at
Girls Inc., when does that confidence
usually shift?
6
00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:25,999
Lea Rosenauer: Too early. [laughter]
7
00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:27,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: Too early, yes.
8
00:02:28,000 --> 00:03:34,999
Lea Rosenauer: Yeah, there was a study a
few years ago that really parallels the
current study that talks about girls as
early as age like nine don't believe
that they are brilliant enough to have
their dream job, whatever that might be.
They are just living with such input
after input after input, an example
after example of perfect girls who know
everything, who never make a mistake,
who always seem confident. And girls in
fourth, fifth, and definitely in middle
school feel that if they're not like
that in that comparison, then they're
not good enough. They're not smart
enough. At Girls Inc., we start with the
basic premise that all girls have
strengths. They don't have to earn them
or learn them. They just have them. That
they are inherently strong. I just have
to say our mission is to inspire all
girls to be strong, smart, and bold. If
anyone listening has ever met me in real
life, I will always say that all girls
are strong, smart, and bold.
9
00:03:35,000 --> 00:04:17,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: Yes, I remember
that when I first met you, and I'm
wearing red for Girls Inc. today,
because it's just that confidence, that
power that-- we have that already. And
that's why when I was reading the NGCP
report about the state of girls and
women in STEM, it's just disheartening
when you see that 57% don't believe that
they're smart enough, or they fear being
bossy or being perceived as bossy. And
that decline happening as early as
elementary, like you were saying, it's
something that we've really got to talk
about. That confidence gap. And I was
wondering, what ways does Girls Inc.
intentionally rebuild that confidence
for young girls and women? What are you
doing there in that organization?
Because it's needed. It's needed.
10
00:04:18,000 --> 00:06:04,999
Lea Rosenauer: It's [needed?]. It's one
girl, one relationship at a time. I
mean, we provide programming in the
out-of-school time space. So
after-school weekends, summer, spring
break, evenings. We want girls safe,
engaged, learning. And what we get to do
is we start with saying, "It's not that
you can't do it. It's that you can't do
it yet." We have to try again. We
celebrate failure. We celebrate making a
mistake. It's [inaudible] nonjudgmental,
"Hey, let's do it differently. Hey, we
thought about this." Too often, the
girls are with adults who are solving
the problems for them or not letting
them make mistakes or not letting them
try again because of time constraints
[inaudible]-- sometimes I'm asked in
robotics clubs why the girls don't want
to learn coding. And I'm like, "What
makes you say they don't want to learn
to code the [robotics?] problem?"
Because they always want to do-- what
I'm told is the girls want to do the
research and make the display. And I
challenge that. And I challenge that by
saying, "What environment are you
creating so that every student has the
ability to ask questions, to try
something? Just because a girl sits
back, maybe thinks about it differently
before putting forth an idea, doesn't
mean that they don't want to try or
learn. And you have to create that
environment that allows all students to
thrive." And at Girls Inc., we create
that environment. And we intentionally
put positive female role models in the
lives of girls. If you've never seen a
female engineer-- I mean, why would you?
Maybe you just haven't met a female
engineer. Why would [crosstalk] jobs for
you?
11
00:06:05,000 --> 00:07:05,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: That's so true.
It's not about the academic skill. It's
about the identity and belonging.
Confidence isn't a personality trait.
It's built through experience,
belonging, and affirmation is what I'm
hearing. That you're doing all of that
in your programming at Girls Inc, and
that's what builds confidence. That's
what helps create that environment for
them to thrive, to see themselves like
that. We've got to create those safe
learning environments. You talked about
mentorship and that power of
representation, and that shifts identity
too, right? We think about all the
research - and I talk about that in our
article too - about the powerful role
that representation and mentorship plays
in a student's trajectory. I mean, it
flips trajectories. And that exposure
changes perception and that girls desire
to learn about STEM careers when they
see themselves in STEM, right? And I
want to tie that into Girls Inc.
mission, right? When girls see women who
look like them in STEM, that abstract
becomes attainable, don't you think?
12
00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:15,999
Lea Rosenauer: That's exactly right.
That's why I have the best job. Because
I get to put positive female role models
in all walks of life in the lives of
these girls. You can't become what you
don't see.
13
00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:23,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: Right. I'd love
for you to share more about that. Tell
me a story of a girl whose trajectory
shifted after they met a mentor, for
example.
14
00:07:24,000 --> 00:08:42,999
Lea Rosenauer: Exactly. I would love to.
And the other thing that girls tell me
is they're finally in a space with girls
who support them. This peer support is
also incredibly critical. For some of
our girls who join our Eureka Program,
our five-year STEM program-- we take
rising eighth graders who maybe for the
first time feel like they're not
different. There are other girls who
like to do this. There are other girls
who are interested in science. And for
the first time, they're like, "Wow, I'm
not weird or different." And just that
alone, that peer support like, "Yes,
we're doing this together." And then the
adult mentors who form those
relationships, who are there to tell the
students and the girls that they can be
successful, that you need to try again,
that you are capable, you just haven't
learned it yet, or you have to try a
different way. Intentionality comes up a
lot for us. Being intentional about how
we talk about science, how we talk about
women in STEM fields, how we
intentionally use examples. Like right
now, the Artemis Space Mission is the
first female astronaut who circled the
moon. Be intentional. Call that out so
that they can make that connection, "Oh,
oh, there's someone who looks like me up
in space. Wow."
15
00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:43,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: Yes. Yes. Exactly.
16
00:08:44,000 --> 00:09:10,999
Lea Rosenauer: The other thing the girls
love about their adult mentors is
learning about the mistakes we made.
None of our journeys have been a
straight line, have been perfect. And
the mentors share those experiences. And
the girls are like, "Wow. I don't have
to be perfect. Everyone tells me I need
to be perfect and know the answer
[crosstalk]." And the mentors that we
put into these girls' lives just help
keep it real and are always there to
support them.
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00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:26,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: That's so crucial.
And I think that is really what
collaboration and impact looks like.
When you have people coming together to
build those supportive systems where
girls could really thrive and really be
accepted and feel seen, that's all so
important.
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00:09:27,000 --> 00:10:29,999
Lea Rosenauer: And that's exactly what
happened with Abigail, who joined the
Eureka program and felt like she wasn't
alone anymore, that other girls liked
science. She found mentors in the
program who supported her. She found her
first science internship at UT San
Antonio Health, at the time it was the
Health Science Center, in a lab where
they were testing cannabis oil and its
effect on mood and hormones in mice,
[laughter] but accepted and was
fascinated. And the adults in the lab
listened to her. She got to do real
things. She could see herself in that
career. There's something called a STEM
identity. We want girls to just see
themselves as part of the STEM
ecosystem. "I can do that. I can help
people. I can solve problems." The NGCP
report talks about how girls really want
to be in helping professions. Well,
that's STEM. Let's talk about that.
Yeah. [crosstalk] all the time.
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00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:32,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: Yeah. Exactly.
It's problem-solving.
20
00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:44,999
Lea Rosenauer: Problem-solving all the
time. And women and girls throughout
history have solved some of the hardest
problems. So being intentional about
that. So that's what we get to do in the
girls in space.
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00:10:45,000 --> 00:11:21,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: Oh, that's
incredible. Yes. I mean, they talked
about that in the article and research
about how sometimes they may not be seen
as traditionally identifying with STEM,
but, no, they are. They're problem
solvers. They're looking at that social
impact, that direct impact. They're
doing research, high-level research that
they didn't think they could do before,
and they're doing it. And I love hearing
Abigail's story because, again, it's
changing the mentorship and creating
that environment where they're safe. It
changes their trajectory. Now they see
and hear about opportunity, but now they
have access to the opportunity. And
that's the game changer. And I think
that--
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00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:26,999
Lea Rosenauer: I often say all the time
- you'll agree with this - talent may be
universal. Girls have talent, they have
skills. But access to opportunity is
not.
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00:11:27,000 --> 00:12:35,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: Yes. Yes. It's
not, exactly. And that's why this work
matters so much for us, and it's our
why. I talked about that in our prior
episode of What's My Why? It's this.
It's that life-changing story of someone
like Abigail, right, that is now
accessing it, and has the tools that she
needs and the mentorship and support and
the environment she needs to thrive.
Running a lot of our STEM programs like
VisionCoders in schools, and a lot of
families say, "Hey, I see that my child
is interested in this, but what can I do
to support them in this pathway?" Like,
I don't know how I fit into this to
support them. And so I want to talk a
little bit more about that. What can
families and family-centered programming
do to really help shift into that
practical and empowering step and role
for their child? And I think that the
language-- I think you would agree with
this. The language that we use at home
about math and science, it matters more
than we realize. I want to hear more
about what you think about that language
happening in our homes and with our
families. What advice would you give our
families?
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00:12:36,000 --> 00:13:10,999
Lea Rosenauer: First thing, assume girls
are good in science and math. Just
assume they're good. So many times we
tell ourselves we're not good in math.
Your aunt might say, "Oh, I'm not a math
person." And all of those little
comments get embedded in a fifth grader,
in a sixth grader. "Well, my mom's not
good at math. I'm not good at math." And
so just from the beginning, just assume
that your daughter, your granddaughter,
your niece, that they're good at math
and science. That's [crosstalk] fine.
Ask them, lean into their curiosity.
Lean into their curiosity.
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00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:11,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: I love that.
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00:13:12,000 --> 00:14:20,999
Lea Rosenauer: And that can be hard. I
wonder what happens when the recycling
is picked up. Lots of tools right now to
figure that out, to put that into a
Google Search. Lean into that curiosity.
Let's find out, instead of [crosstalk],
right? Remind girls that they need to
keep trying. It's not that you're not
good at it. You're just not good yet.
Let's figure that out. If you have the
opportunity and the ability, visit
museums together. You don't have to be
great at natural sciences. We can go to
the museum and learn together.
[crosstalk] exhibits together. Go to the
Botanical Garden and learn about botany
together. Be willing to be curious
yourself. And it's okay to be vulnerable
with your students and your daughters
and your granddaughters as well. Say,
You know something? Growing up for me
personally, algebra was difficult. And I
got scared, and I got nervous." But it's
okay to be vulnerable with my student
and say, "I felt like I couldn't do it.
And I asked for help. And it's okay to
feel like you can't do it. But how do
you get past that? Don't let that stop
you."
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00:14:21,000 --> 00:15:48,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: That's so real. I
also struggled in some of my
higher-level math and science courses at
the university level. I was top 10% in
high school, and then it was a reality
check when I hit my university classes.
And I think that I would have benefited
so much of having somebody saying
struggle is part of learning. It's not
proof that you don't belong. You do
belong. It's just this is part of
learning. The struggle is okay. It's
okay to fail sometimes. And it's okay to
retake that class sometimes. And I think
having that comfortable and safe space
and a person that can encourage you like
that and cheer you on, those are some of
those small shifts that make really
great impact in our homes and in our
classrooms, right? Well, I know we're
almost out of time. Again, I know we
could talk about this all day. And I
know that this is what's energizing to
me is finding my people like you that in
our community doing the same work, where
we're encouraging our students and this
community-rooted work works. That's why
I wanted to invite you so much is
because part of our Alamo STEM
Ecosystem, the idea of co-leads here in
San Antonio, it's bringing all these
cross-sector folks, academia, industry,
our nonprofits, our community-based
work, and all getting in this alignment
together because there's so much impact
to be made here in our city. And I just
wanted to kind of leave with some of
this final thought of, are you hopeful
about the future of girls in STEM? And
what gives you that hope?
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00:15:49,000 --> 00:16:16,999
Lea Rosenauer: Oh, what gives me that
hope is talking to the girls. I mean,
this work is one relationship at a time.
And when I get into conversations with
the girls who come to our center, who
come to summer camp, who are sharing
their dreams and feel supported, I know
we're in good hands. The future is
really, really bright. And it's the
students that keep me, the girls that
keep me grounded every day, all day.
29
00:16:17,000 --> 00:17:21,999
Dr. Stephanie Garcia: I couldn't agree
more. I couldn't agree more. And I just
want to leave our listeners with this,
that the question-- again, I know we had
started this conversation, Leah and I
back in 2019 when I first met Leah and
Girls Inc. of San Antonio, but the
question is not about whether girls
belong at STEM. They do. The question is
about whether we're building systems
that really reflect that truth. And so I
just want to leave that with our
listeners of what ways can you
contribute to building these systems
that support our girls and our women in
STEM, and who can you connect with? What
are some other like-minded folks, like
IDRA and Girls Inc. that's doing this
work and find your people to do that
community-rooted work because it works
and it matters. And so thank you again,
Leah, for joining us today. I truly
appreciate it. And we'll hopefully come
and invite you back again, and we can
keep this discussion going and keep
learning from each other and applying
these practices to our programs that
really are proven to work. And so thank
you again, and thank you for all the
work you're doing here in San Antonio.
And thank you, listeners, for joining
in, and we'll stay tuned for next time.
Thank you.
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00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:27,999
VO: Thank you for listening to IDRA
Classnotes. For more information on IDRA
and other Classnotes topics, go to
www.idra.org. You can also send us your
thoughts by email to podcast@idra.org.
