Our Story
Inspired by reflections on their high school education and social movements beginning in June 2020, Sophia Swartz and Anjika Pai began to envision how high school STEM classes could inspire students to become empathetic, inclusive scientists. The two recognized the intersectionalities between their majors and subjects such as race, gender, and queer theory, and they reached out to other students at their colleges who were interested in introducing elements of diversity, equity, and inclusion to STEM fields. The project began as a way to provide high school STEM teachers with avenues to discuss race, gender, and sexual orientation in class and eventually expanded to offer resources to students as well. The team defined "STEMpathy" as their central approach to STEM education, one that intentionally incorporates a diverse set of identities in order to reflect and shape the world in an equitable manner. The power of this tool, as the co-founders soon realized, went beyond the classroom—redefining STEM as a whole to be oriented towards service.
The Co-Founders in High School
Timeline
Summer 2020
A volunteer team from Harvard, UC Berkeley, Barnard, and Johns Hopkins compile resources addressing intersections of social identifiers and STEM subjects.
Fall 2020
The organization gains seed funding from the Harvard Lemann Program on Creativity & Entrepreneurship and presents at the National Science Policy Network Symposium.
Winter 2021
Our team is selected as a finalist for the University of California Big Ideas Contest, as well as a member of the Harvard Innovation-Lab Start It! Program.
Spring 2021
To expand beyond the library, STEMpathy Resources is rebranded to STEM Redefined. The organization partners with Central Bucks School District to gain initial educator feedback.
Summer 2021
STEM Redefined is featured in Diversity in Action, as well as gains funding from the Berkeley Ventures, Berkeley Values Pitch Competition focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Today
STEM Redefined seeks to partner with educators and students to identify improvements for the available resources and programming. Interested in joining the team? Reach out.