Breaking down the gender barrier
Both Nagar and Gao note the Concordia chapter is dedicated to bridging the gender gap in STEM.
“It’s important that there are a lot of women that make up Let’s Talk Science,” says Gao. “There’s a visibility here that perhaps didn't exist before.”
Bonnie Schmidt, president and founder of Let’s Talk Science, recently wrote that it is very important to draw attention to inspiring female role models to get more girls interested in STEM.
Nagar agrees.
“It’s important to me to have women become more involved in STEM and to ensure girls feel just as comfortable as boys in pursuing science,” she says.
“The myth is that science is hard and scary. It’s not — I do coding every day. If I can survive it, I think any girl can. What matters most is to follow your interests regardless of gender. If a guy wants to go into a creative field, he should — if a girl wants to code, she should.”
A rewarding volunteer experience
While volunteers enjoy giving back to the community, Gao says Let’s Talk Science also offers its members other personal benefits. Many develop connections through the organization’s large national network, and all of them can take training sessions that focus on creating and delivering impactful, hands-on STEM activities.
“Let’s Talk Science is a respected name known by many research organizations and community groups, so it looks great on a CV,” says Gao.
“Our aim is to recruit more active volunteers because we want to reach more kids — as many as possible!”
Find out how to volunteer with Let’s Talk Science Concordia.