Speaker at AAUW-WA STEM Scholars Awards Ceremony 2017

This past Monday, I was honored to speak at the AAUW Washington's STEM Scholars awards ceremony last night! The AAUW-WA honors high-achieving young women in their junior year of high school who have shown exceptional aptitude in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics.

Preparing my speech for this event required a quick turnaround after GDC 2017, but it was more than worth it to be able to connect with these talented women and share some of the tips and tricks I've picked up on my journey so far.

As the motivational speaker for the event (many thanks to Jen Sward for recommending me!), I was tasked with providing advice and encouragement for these high-performing high school women. I focused on the importance of surrounding yourself with positive people, identifying passions, taking part in self-care, setting goals, not screening yourself out of opportunities, personal branding, and showing gratitude.

As they received their awards, it was so inspiring to hear about all of their accomplishments, from publishing books to winning national awards in various STEM and athletic competitions to taking part (already!) in life-saving research and so much more.

Thank you again to the AAUW-WA and Jen for this awesome opportunity, and congrats to all of the STEM Scholars! I can't wait to see what imprints they leave on the world.