After a student wakes up on May 1, she gets ready for the day, making sure to represent her next step with a hoodie. She arrives at school, making her way to the gym for senior decision day. As her name is called, she stands proudly, letting it be known that she, and many other girls, are paving the way for the future of the world through STEM.
As graduation draws near, the class of 2026 begins to reveal its next steps. Many of these graduates are girls going into STEM, paving the way for a bright future.
STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, and math. According to the US Department of Labor, 27% of people working in STEM are women. This is the highest it’s ever been, and that number will likely continue to grow in the near future.
Senior decision day occurred on Friday, with all MCHS seniors revealing their next steps.
“I am going into Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes University in England,” says Margaret Putman, senior at MCHS. “I have always been interested in the STEM field, NASCAR, and Formula One, and realized that I could go to school to be able to go into that field.”
Putman’s next steps center around subjects she loves, as is common among many seniors.
“I have always had a love for the superhuman appearance of computers, and computer science has always challenged my brain in ways my other classes hadn’t,” says Sadie Sullivan, senior at MCHS. “Instead of just accomplishing a task, I get to figure out how to do it more efficiently, safely, and cleanly.”
One misconception about STEM is that the humanities get abandoned in the name of science. This is far from true.
“I’ll be majoring in architecture at the University of Illinois Chicago as an Evans Scholar,” says Parker Bahnses, senior at MCHS. “I chose architecture because I love the artistic and creative side of it while still fostering my interest in engineering, aesthetics, experience, and material sciences.”
STEM is diverse, and graduating MCHS students are proving that.
“I am majoring in Biomedical Engineering starting in the fall of 2026!” says Katelyn Vergara, senior at MCHS. “The scientific complexity of everything (especially humans and the systems needed to keep us alive) fascinates me. I can’t imagine not pursuing it as a career.”
While they’re all going to do different things after high school, these girls have one thing in common–those things are going to be great.
One of the most daunting things that all high school kids experience is the feeling of being lost. It may seem hard now, but eventually, things will fall into place.
“Don’t think you can’t do it,” says Vergara. “I know it sounds cliché, but I’ve spent a lot of time doubting and re-considering my major solely based on my own ideas that I wasn’t smart or good enough to become an engineer, and I think learning and understanding the fact that STEM is persistence above anything else is what finally helped me solidify the fact that I can pursue this career.”
It’s easy to doubt yourself, and the only way to overcome that feeling is to not let it hold you back.
“Follow your dreams,” says Putman. “Find something that interests you, and see if there’s a career path that will help you reach that point.”
With so many aspects, STEM opens the doors for problems to be solved in infinite ways.
“My advice for underclassmen in STEM is to always stay curious and pursue work with your full effort,” says Sullivan. “There are so many different technologies and solutions to the problems we have every day. We just need someone to have the heart to pursue those avenues and ask the questions that others are afraid to. Curiosity is how every great invention and career was made.”
“I have made many friends and have learned many things about myself through experiences involving STEM,” says Sullivan. “It is like a web; someone in math can accomplish something in computer science, while a computer scientist can contribute to the medical field.”
As the student puts on her cap and gown on May 16, she reflects on the last four years and how they’ve changed her and helped her grow. It’s nice to finally know what she wants to be when she grows up. Now, when she finally tosses her decorated cap, she knows that despite now being a “grown-up,” she’s still got a lot of growing to do. With STEM, the sky is the limit.