By Jillian Risberg 

To be a leader in STEM (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math) for young students and grow as an aspiring engineer is an honorable title that Emilia Szczepaniak takes great pride in, as she was recently named an EngineerGirl Ambassador. 

“It opens a path to discovering my passions within the STEM world and inspiring others to think creatively and make a change,” says Szczepaniak, a junior at The Academy for Math, Science and Engineering in Rockaway. 

The National Academy of Engineering was looking for motivated high school girls passionate about engineering and with prior exposure to this subject. 

“Applicants were expected to present a carefully considered plan for an engineering program in their community for younger students, especially those in underrepresented areas,” she says. 

Szczepaniak will be teaching two sessions (one currently/another this spring) that meet twice a week at the Butler Public Library, where the 16-year-old will be sharing how to build circuits with an Arduino, a microcontroller that sends and receives inputs and outputs, as well as creating 3D models.

“The program targets middle school students, especially girls, to see the beauty in STEM and gain access to new resources,” Szczepaniak says, adding that it’s about instilling confidence in the girls through open discussion and encouraging them to make mistakes. 

“This can be beneficial by making participants comfortable with group work and even pursuing STEM. It has been a goal of mine to positively influence others to try out a subject I am passionate about.”

According to Szczepaniak, we are living in a revolutionary era for technology and we see its positive impact everyday. Tesla recently announced AI projects that will ameliorate the company’s autonomous car applications and society as we know it.

“Data is consistently recorded on COVID-19 and solutions are being sought for global warming,” says the aspiring engineer. “Now is the best time for technology involving programming to prove its capabilities to tackle these global issues and strive for human advancements. So much is occurring within this field, making it exciting to study, watch, and one day work in STEM.”

Unfortunately, many students don’t have access. Szczepaniak also lacked it, so being able to provide others this opportunity connects with her on a personal level. 

“I would have loved to have built circuits or found a free STEM program that encouraged positive learning when I was younger,” the 16-year-old says. “Many students may want to explore STEM but do not know where to begin since they don’t know anyone who works (in) the field. This program can be a perfect opportunity for students to discover their love for STEM and a dream job they were not previously aware of.” 

Szczepaniak’s own love of engineering stems (or she says STEMs) from her early mathematics days in elementary school, but started to look into engineering as a potential career path towards the end of middle school. 

“It was when I took my first CAD (Computer Aided Design) class in high school that I was very interested in engineering,” she says being a female in this field is a bolder role to take on than being a male pursuing STEM. “You have to prove what you’re capable of while having others look up to you for being a part of the minority.”

Marie Skłodowska Curie has been a tremendous influence, Szczepaniak says especially since they are both Polish, and Curie was the first person to win two Nobel Prizes (and in more than one scientific field).

“Margaret Hamilton has also greatly inspired me through her contributions to NASA and the Apollo Moon missions with computer science.”

With female STEM icons like that to look up to, no wonder Szczepaniak is excited about her future.  

“I’m continuing to learn more about engineering each day through studying AI, taking a metals and woods class, building circuits and coding when I can at home, and using CAD,” she says. “I would like to pursue electrical or robotics engineering in college. I hope to make a revolutionary system that will benefit the world!”

At the end of the day, Szczepaniak says don’t be intimidated to learn about STEM.

“With interest and an optimistic mindset, one can surely tackle it,” she says.