• introduction

• local stories

• videos and articles

• ischool demographics

Hi! My name is Adaeze Asonye. I created this project in order to introduce a conversation around representation and diversity in STEM, so that it can hopefully help people understand why this topic is so important to me and others, and give them something new to think about when they leave this class. This section contains some blurbs about my personal feelings on the subject!

some background about me

As a black woman, representation in all fields/industries has always been important to me, and has been something I have been very conscious of since I was young. I have been in spaces where I have been a minority—no question—and other spaces where diversity was plentiful. My elementary/middle school was predominantly white, but my high school was quite diverse. In the present, I attend a PWI (predominantly white institution) in a major and a member of STEM-related RSOs where most people do not look like me.

what does it feel like to be the odd one out in spaces like this?

Especially when it comes to STEM, competitive academics and future careers can already make these spaces feel cutthroat and not very welcoming. It's difficult to thrive when I have no one to relate to my experiences, but also makes facing things from micro aggressions to straight bigotry diffcult to handle alone. I largely find community based on similarities I have with others, and find joy when I can discuss shared experiences (both positive and negative) with people. Having to play roles of the diversity ambassador all the time can be exhausting—while I want to increase diversity in these spaces and see people like me gain access to spaces they deserve to be in, it's not fun to always be the one spearheading the cause and receiving possible backlash for it.

and to the groups i don't fit into...

I see the world from the perspective of the groups I identify with. This means that despite being a member of multiple underrepresented groups, there are people who identify with more, less, or overall different groups than me. I can only mainly speak from my perspective, which is heavily influenced from identities like being Black, a woman, the daughter of immigrants, straight, able-bodied, and more. There are so many stories that need to be told and so many groups that deserve to be highlighted, and I hope that there is a future ahead of us that highlights all of these groups. I knew that my topic was ambitious since there are so many identities to cover when considering representation, but I hope that my site delivers the point that diversity is important in general! In later sections of this Carrd, I have included stories from a couple different communities.