Irene is currently a freshman at Boston University studying Chemistry. Irene worked with Ashley Kim (‘24) to establish STEM For Girls, a weekly STEM workshop program for 4th and 5th grade girls with the purpose of fostering their passion for STEM. Their work has gained the support and funding and the project has now expanded to cater a diverse variety of fun STEM lessons for both the elementary school they teach at and Youth Centers in Seohyun and Jeongja. 

 

Her motive to start STEM For Girls came from an observation she made during her sophomore year in high school: there were overwhelmingly more guys than girls in her school’s AP Calculus AB Independent Study Program. Many of her (girl) friends who were qualified to take the program voluntarily refused to participate, and she found that the root of this issue was the lack of encouragement for girls to pursue STEM as a career in their early academic years. Through STEM For Girls, Irene learned the joy of sharing her knowledge and skills to younger girls, hoping that they receive the opportunity and inspiration they need to pursue STEM.  As she starts her new chapter in college, she is thrilled to see what other incredible endeavors the new executives of FemSTEM will take on.

 

During her free time, Irene loves to draw, run, and cook meals that remind her of her home back in South Korea.