Are you an aspiring STEM-induced student? Are you struggling to find opportunities for STEM at Malden High? Then Malden STEMsters are for you.
Malden STEMsters is a new addition to the STEM community, opening up a new world of possibilities for all students regardless of their experience.
The STEMsters opened up their introductory meeting strong with high attendance. Prior to the meeting, the room was vibrant and chatty, with many intrigued and aspiring students. The meeting opened with snacks being passed out, giving students a sense of relaxation after a long school day and a welcome to the new community of the club. As students snacked, the officers projected a slideshow to introduce the STEMsters.
Throughout the introductory presentation, the premise of the club was explained to the new members. The STEMsters explained various volunteering opportunities, which would consist of using STEM topics to educate and practice with younger children. “There’s basically a set curriculum for STEMsters, and the chapter that we have established with has a wide variety of STEM topics, whether it is related to introductory programming or some other middle school activities we’d find at regular STEM classes involving architecture and design,” sophomore Treasurer Shannel Zab explained.
The origin of STEMsters started in a place where many people reside today in search of opportunities to add to college resumes. Hoping to expand access to such opportunities for students at Malden High, an ambitious group of sophomores set out to make a change: President Sophia Chen, Vice President Emma Yu, Secretary Ness Tiah, Zeb, Media Coordinators Suyog Shrestha, and YingYan Xia.
“What inspired me to start this club was that originally, during advisory, we had an assignment where we had to fill out a resume, but I realized that a lot of people didn’t fill out their awards or volunteering hours,” explained Chen. When she asked them why, they said that they wanted to earn volunteer hours that were also “impactful for their resume.”
Chen continued, “So I was like, okay, maybe we could create something with that. So I went online, and I typed in, ‘What can I do to solve this problem,’ and STEMsters popped up, which is why I created this club: to help students earn awards for volunteering.”
President Sophia Chen explained, “The PVSA award, which is the Presidential Volunteering Award, is something everyone can be eligible for and put that on their resume, which I think is why a lot of people are attracted to this club in the first place.”
Such volunteering opportunities inspired many students to have the interest to join in a time when many students are looking to fulfill hours for transcripts and resumes. In addition to the phenomenal volunteer opportunities, the club brings a new aspect most clubs at Malden High do not offer: an opportunity for members to obtain an award.
With opportunities for volunteering and awards, many students were interested in what this club would bring. At this point, students formed lines to ask the officers more about the possibilities within the club. “There were a lot more people than we expected. I feel like there are a decent amount of people who are interested in STEM, especially people who messaged me curious about what we were doing,” Yu pointed out.
The officers hope to do much more with STEMsters and provide more than just volunteering opportunities. “In the future, I really want to help people find their internships around STEM, or I know we talked about how we wanted to have some go get some more awards like go into competitions,” Chen mentioned.
Xia expressed the message they hope others will take away from STEMsters: “We want to introduce or have more younger kids be interested in the field of STEM, whether it’s building roller coasters or having more hands-on learning. One thing is, they should be learning about this, but most of all, have fun while doing it.”
Malden STEMsters meets bi-weekly in math teacher Evan Mauser’s room, BR472. If you’re interested, stop by, bring a friend, and check out their Instagram @malden_stemsters for more information.
