Students Host Exeter's First STEM Day
Booths and posters adorned the Agora on Saturday, Jan. 26—Exeter’s inaugural Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Day. Student organizers filled the day with presentations from professors of renowned universities, student presentations at the Tech Fair and fun challenges created by Exeter’s STEM clubs, encouraging interested STEM students to pursue their passions.
When asked about the reason she wanted to help organize STEM Day, upper Penny Brant discussed her desire to create an opportunity for students to appreciate and learn about the STEM field, especially in the context of the real world. “We decided to organize STEM day because we felt that at Exeter, we often focus too much on competition and achievements but forget the beauty of STEM,” she said. “We wanted this day to be a day where people can come together and celebrate their interests in STEM in a non-competitive environment.”
Similarly, upper and co-Editor-in-Chief of MATTER Magazine Anjali Gupta decided to participate because she felt that STEM’s real-world implications are not often discussed at Exeter. “Talking about STEM is incredibly important because Exeter tends to lean more towards the humanities side, yet STEM is what is going to most radically change the world in the next few decades, as Exonians join the workforce,” Gupta said. “It's important to showcase STEM clubs at Exeter so more people are interested in joining them and learn about STEM, breaking down the stereotype that STEM is only for a certain type of individual.”
Meanwhile, senior and fellow organizer Arun Wongprommoon hoped the event would engage students to explore STEM regardless of their current knowledge and passion about the subjects. “We have good courses, have good opportunities, good teachers, and our students are very skilled in STEM but we don't really showcase that to the whole school so everyone can see how STEM is playing out in the real world today,” he said.
Prep Mana Vale noted all the effort that went into planning STEM Day. “I personally didn't do a whole lot, but I know my peers wrote up a budget and wrote up a plan and proposed it,” she said. “We got it approved and then had to organize every plan. They had to email out a ton of competitors from all over the area and only a few responded. They had to do a lot of logistical work.”
Upper Panda Atipunumphai, meanwhile, emphasized how events were only made possible through support from various students and adults. “People are really enthusiastic about STEM and an event like this has happened before, so people were very enthusiastic to help,” she said. “Funding-wise, the teachers were very willing to help us—Ms. [Alison] Hobbie in particular.”
Attendees, including prep Aletheia Zou, felt like STEM day helped broaden her view of how STEM is implemented in the wider community. “[The day] brings STEM out of the classroom into the wider school community,” she said. “I know a lot of people complain, for example, that biology class is just memorization. So they don't get to see the human side or the side that has real people solving real problems.”
Vale also emphasized the importance of the event. “STEM just means endless possibilities to me,” she said. “There's so much you can do with it. You can combine it with other fields that are non-STEM to be interdisciplinary, like projects and stuff like that. It's really cool what you can do with it.”
Recognizing the interest of STEM within the community, prep Garrett Paik noted the impact of STEM day on the Exeter community. “I think there's a lot of kids on this campus, especially [those] that are really interested in STEM,” he said. “Speakers occasionally come and talk to us about STEM but I think it's really nice to have a whole day devoted to just that. People who are interested can go check it out and hear more about different areas of STEM. I think it's also good for people that aren't really that into STEM to see what it's all about.”
Though Paik recognized the day’s significance, he believed many improvements could be made. He noted how the presentations could have had more clarity, considering the limited time for their lectures. “In terms of the speakers, what they discussed was really interesting but I could see how it would be really confusing,” he said. “I didn't think [the presenter] did a very good job of explaining a lot of the topics that he covered. Maybe they should focus on doing something a little bit simpler since there are only 20 minutes to talk.”
Furthermore, organizers were also disappointed by the low turnout and plan to make student interest one of their priorities next year. “We should start advertising in advance because it was made up pretty quickly within a few months,” Atipunumphai said. “Getting more people is certainly something we want to do. Maybe reach out to more clubs for the help of their members.”
Despite all the difficulties and challenges of the event, Brant ultimately found organizing to be a fulfilling experience. “Being able to plan this event was a very rewarding process and it taught me a lot, and it was great to see that it actually made a positive impact on our community,” Brant said.