On April 12, from 6 to 9 PM, Irvington’s Girls in Stem Club and American Association of University Women (AAUW) hosted Dine with a Scientist. Dine with a Scientist is a networking event that allows high school attendees to talk to seasoned scientists and engineers in a variety of professional fields. The event has been hosted annually since 2014, except for the years 2020 and 2024.
The event began with a brief speech from the Girls in Stem Club officer team and AAUW representative Fahria Khan. AAUW is a non-profit dedicated to increasing the diversity and representation of women in STEM fields. This introductory speech served to introduce the officer team, Girls in Stem’s mission, and the history of the event. Event coordinator Diya Dalal (11) and Cubesat software director Rhea Cherukuri (11) also gave a brief presentation on Girls in Stem’s Cubesat team, sharing their successful satellite launch and future plans for the team.
When asked about the goal of Dine with a Scientist, Girls in Stem co-president Pooja Verma (11) mentioned, “My goal when planning Dine with a Scientist, with the help of the rest of our organization team, including Diya Dalal, Harshitha Loganthan, and Navya Pichika, who led majority of the backend organization as DWAS Project Director, was really to expose our attendees to the diversity within STEM fields. The Bay Area and Irvington specifically serves as an echo chamber for people interested in STEM; we always hear about the same summer programs, internships, and career pathways, and I think this limits our scope. Therefore, its important to meet real scientists in the field with varied experiences and passion for spreading their knowledge.” Dalal also added, “Most students don’t see the big picture, and they sometimes pick a specific academic field and set one goal. Connecting with professionals in various fields who have gone through the process of finding their passion helps with this issue by exposing students to true and diverse professional experiences.”
Girls in Stem and AAUW welcomed twelve professional scientists and engineers, as well as over seventy students to the event. Each registered student was placed at a table with one to two scientists, based on their career interests. Fields represented included physics, operations research, chemical engineering, bioengineering, biology, and more. After the initial introductory speech, students and scientists helped themselves to Italian food, served in a buffet. Students then returned to their tables to be able to converse with and ask questions to their scientists.
The event was open to high school students across the FUSD school district. In addition, members of Irvington and FUSD administration were also in attendance, including FUSD Superintendent Zack Larsen, Irvington Principal Stan Hicks, FUSD Board Trustees Sharon Coco and Rinu Nair, and NHUSD Board Trustee Shamsa Rafay.
Planning the event took a great amount of effort from the officer team and AAUW. Verma stated, “Planning this event was incredibly difficult, but we were beyond lucky to receive the generous support of AAUW. They were able to receive a large sum of money to host the event through a Cargill sponsorship. With adequate funding, we were truly able to execute our creative vision for the event, including high-end food items and inventive decoration displays.”
After the initial dinner with their scientists, students were allowed to walk around the cafeteria and converse with other scientists. This allowed students to expose themselves to more STEM fields and professionals. The Girls in Stem officers also issued a closing statement.
Dine with a Scientist this year continued the mission of the club and AAUW. By bringing more students together with diverse scientists and engineers, the event inspires young girls and boys to immerse themselves in fascinating experiences and learn more about different academic fields.
