By: Tracy Trofimencoff, Teacher-Librarian and Teacher-Mentor with MakeShift 4039 Robotics
Women and STEM make up “one quarter of the people employed in STEM careers and less than one fifth of the nuclear sector’s workforce” (Commission, 2024), so what can we do in education to promote more girls in STEM?
St. Mary’s MakeShift 4039 Robotics team is a great place to start. I am delighted to be a part of this incredible group of people as a new teacher-mentor for the 2024-2025, after a parent in the community encouraged me to get involved. The young women on our robotics team are brilliant! Each of the young women offers a unique skill set to the team and shows that women can indeed, be active and accomplished women in STEM. My involvement with our team inspired me, as the teacher-librarian, to create a book display highlighting a variety of non-fiction and fiction books that highlight women in STEM during the month of March which is Women’s History Month along with International Women’s Day (March 8th). The display also has various photos of the women team members in action, not only building our team robot, but working together to build, create and share their knowledge with others on the team.
MakeShift 4039 is unlike any other school team or club that I have been involved with in my teaching career. I immediately felt welcomed as a new teacher-mentor by the existing teacher-mentor Matt Ciprietti and the mentors on the team, like Matt Alderson and Angela Tollis, even though I am not a STEM teacher. MakeShift 4039 has a place for everyone, and inclusion is a core value of the team. The team prides itself on the FIRST principal of Gracious Professionalism which is shown not only in the workshop/portable on site, but in the different events that I have attended. Further, First Canada’s Core Values of Discovery, Innovation, Impact, Inclusion, Teamwork and Fun are very evident with our team (First Core Values 2018). For example, our team met with remarkable success at the Niagara FRC Qualifier in March winning the prestigious FIRST Impact Award. Our Impact team had many women mentors and girls on the team who worked together along with the boys, to create a great presentation and video. The mentors are committed professionals who give countless hours of their time to the team, the students and embody the principals of First Canada.
One of the best parts of being on this team is when the student becomes the teacher. Emily, one of our grade 9 rookies, encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone and learn how to effectively use hand tools. Her confidence and ownership of her own talents in the shop is inspiring! As the season has progressed, we have welcomed three more women mentors to the team. Representation matters and seeing other women step into the role of mentor, has brought some depth to the team. Some of these young women will be leaving our team this year with plans to pursue a career in STEM whether it be mechanical engineering, architecture, or electrical engineering.
As educators, the responsibility is on us to get girls participating in STEM. I would encourage you to find your school’s FLL team, FTC team or FRC team and get involved. To learn more about our team at St. Mary, check out our MakeShift Team on Instagram @frc4039, Youtube (Girls R Brilliant video series) or on our website.
