Back when school was fully remote in 2020, a group of middle school girls got together on Zoom and started thinking about something out of this world: how to grow food on Mars.
It took ingenuity to carry out their project at home — like using materials such as graham cracker crumbs and a hair dryer to represent Mars' problematic dust storms — but the plan they developed won a national contest. Now they’re known around the hallways at Plouffe Academy in Brockton as "The Galactic Girls."
The girls' stellar success came with the help of mentors, including guidance counselor John MacDonald, who kept them on track with the project and in March 2021 linked them to former director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center Todd May. In his discussion with the Galactic Girls, May helped the girls with their project and encouraged them to see their own potential, calling them the “leaders of the next generation.”
May and other industry experts believe mentorship is key to getting more girls interested in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math. Nearly half of the United States' workforce is women, but only 27% work in STEM fields, according to U.S. census data. In Massachusetts, where STEM is now the most rapidly growing field, women make up only 29% of that workforce outside of healthcare.
“Mentors are critical throughout life, but particularly with young students to make a connection,” said Alisa Wilke of American Student Assistance, the nonprofit which created the "Solve Together” contest the Galactic Girls won. “It’s a critical component of exploration and experimentation for careers and for education.”
Watch: Mentors help girls imagine life on Mars and STEM careers
May said the need for mentors is now urgent because there’s a global “war” for STEM talent.
“It's a matter of necessity at this point. You know, we need female engineers, we need female scientists, we need female astronauts because, you know, the demand for those jobs is as high as it's ever been,” said May, “And there is an untapped resource out there in women and underrepresented groups who are not choosing to take this path.”
Research shows that girls as young as 6 years old may lose interest in science and engineering if they believe social stereotypes suggesting that girls are less interested than boys in those fields. Experts say mentors can help counteract those stereotypes by helping girls picture themselves in STEM roles.
Middle school years are a “critical time” for girls to be mentored, said Jennifer Roecklein-Canfield, a professor of chemistry at Simmons University, who is on the board of the Massachusetts Stem Advisory Council and with Million Women Mentors, an organization focused on encouraging girls and women to pursue STEM careers.
“In middle school, when girls begin to question their self-confidence and begin to try to assimilate, liking science and math at this time is often an outlier and unless she has or sees strong women STEM role models, she will often start to move away from her interest in science and math,” Roecklein-Canfield said.
“It’s 100 percent about confidence,” said Victoria Waterman with the Worcester branch of Girls Inc. which runs STEM programs for girls, with local partners like Worcester Polytechnic Institute. “If you give them the opportunity and they like it and they excel, they will have the confidence.”
State data also shows STEM-related jobs boost incomes: on average, those jobs pay $30,000 more than the average annual pay across all industries in the state.
“This is a way to lift up families and communities. These are good paying jobs. And so, you know, why not tap into the talent?” said Lily Mendez, CEO of Mass Mentoring Partnership.
Mendez said expanding the “pipeline” for women to get into STEM fields requires more resources for mentoring and more opportunities for mentoring.
Engineer Jennifer Leavitt started a mentoring program at her company Sensata Technologies in Attleboro focused on middle school girls.
“The girls are still very open minded and willing to try new things, willing to put themselves out there a little bit more than maybe once they get in the high school and already have themselves set on a path,” said Leavitt.
And those who are mentored often become mentors themselves.
Eloisa Salcedo, 17, is a mentor with the Cambridge-based “Science Club for Girls” and was once herself a student in the program.
"[The mentors] just kind of embodied this person that I kind of wanted to be when I was older," she said.
Salcedo said she’s heading for college with scholarship money to study either engineering or computer science.
Back at Plouffe Academy in Brockton, Galactic Girl team member Gabriella Rodriguez pondered the impact of her experience.
“It opened so many doors for a lot of us, in this group. It's helped pave ways to career paths that a lot of us didn't think we could actually do,” she said. “So I would hope that we could inspire some young girls out there."
Guidance counselor MacDonald said the girls are now mentors for others.
“I think they’re inspirations for their peers,” said MacDonald, “And I just can’t wait to see their future.”
