Meet Emma Endres
Major: Chemistry
What encouraged you to join the Women in STEM LLC?
The fact that there were going to be girls like me that were interested in the STEM field and support each other. Also, because it's a learning environment and not just a party environment.
What personal opportunities have you experienced while being involved in the Women in STEM?
I'm the chair of the council for the Women in STEM, so I put on a lot of the programming and I personally enjoy doing that and being able to see all the girls, and we also have a lot of opportunities for events that not everyone gets to hear about, and opportunities such as internship opportunities or research opportunities.
How would you compare the Women in STEM LLC from other dorms?
I think that most of us are all in the same classes, and in most dorms you have a wide variety of people which is nice, but we are all in the same classes, so if someone says 'Hi, I don't understand this,' someone will be able to help them a little bit and push them in the right direction. We also have people that are in your major that are older than you, and they can calm you down when you're stressed out about things. For chemistry specifically, there is a girl that is older than me, and she reminds me and tells me, 'You're OK, you will get through it,' we basically do that for everyone that is in organic chemistry and tell them that you will survive. It's a very good support group because we've all been there and we all get it.
Has there been a specific memory or moment for you personally, that's made you realize you joined the right place?
We randomly end up all in the hallway at once, the whole floor will be standing outside their doors just talking and we have these random hallway parties because two people are in the hallway then someone else comes out, and then everyone is in the hallway and we are just having a good time. Also, we do movie nights and cookies after big chem tests because everyone has to take some chemistry for the sciences generally, it's a de-stressor, and we have a really good time doing that. We also have lots of dinners, and we do STEM Olympics. We literally just play games, but we have such a good time, and we get really competitive for no reason and it's so fun, and I think that's some of my best experiences so far.
Would you recommend girls in the STEM field to join the LLC?
Definitely, I would encourage people to because it's such an encouraging environment and we have tutors, we all help each other, and we understand the difficult tests, and the STEM fields are generally very hard and work heavy, so we understand, and we have the time where we have fun, but we also know that we need to do our homework and study. It's like a little family that's encouraging and keeps everyone going.
What are your future plans?
I want to go to grad school eventually, I don't know what field of chemistry I want to work in yet, and I also want to teach high school chemistry.