16-year-old ‘STEM QUEEN’ Jacqueline Means lives in one of America’s most dangerous cities — but she’s sharing her love of science with other girls to improve their lives.
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16-year-old Jacqueline Means, aka ‘STEM Queen,’ created a nonprofit to get underprivileged girls in her community involved in STEM.
Jacqueline: ‘My turning point was when I saw that person not much older than I get shot and I knew there has to be something that I can do to make Wilmington better but I can’t just sit here and just watch all these negative things happen and not do anything.
I’ve always had a passion for STEM. I want to be a neurosurgeon when I get older. I’ve always thought the brain was so fascinating. I’ve always felt that I love science and that I could share that love of science with other girls. If I can better some little girls they are make her say Oh you know what I love stem. I didn’t think it was for me I thought it was just for boys. But now I can do it too
Means’s hometown of Wilmington, DE has been called ‘Murder Town USA’ because it’s one of the most dangerous small cities in America. Means has witnessed the violence that in Wilmington, or more notoriously known as ‘Murdertown USA’
‘I live in a part of Wilmington that’s called Southbridge and it’s a especially bad part of Wilmington just because there is so much poverty and just so much crime going on in the area. My mom has always told my brother and I that the only way to better your situation is to do it yourself you can’t wait for others to come along and start up what you know should be happening you could just do it yourself.’
At 13, Means founded the Wilmington Urban STEM
Initiative, a nonprofit that hosts STEM workshops for girls in her community and connects students with influential women.
‘Not only did it feel good for me knowing that I positively impacted these young girls even if it was just a little bit like them and know that they could do anything in their life.’
‘So when I need someone and they find out that I’ve used them they’re always so amazed, they say oh really. You do STEM? and I’m like yes I love STEM and I love science. I love math. And then they find that I do pageants and they say I thought pageants were for dumb girls and I’m like No they’re not.’
‘Myself coming from Southbridge you think that I would have bad grades that I wouldn’t even think about dating back to my community. But I’m absolutely opposite. I have an awesome GPA. I have really good grades. Even with these college courses and I love to get back to my community and do what I can to make them in a better place.’
Means says her first STEM event reached nearly 40 girls and now, she has impacted over 350 girls in her community.
#STEM #Science #WomeninSTEM #GirlsinSTEM
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