Meghan Shea, doctoral candidate at Stanford University’s Doerr School of Sustainability, outlined a diverse set of interests and experiences in her talk at the Sept. 21 American Association of University Women meeting.
Held at Neutra House in Los Altos and available both in person and via Zoom, the meeting included attendees of the Tech Trek Science Camps for girls, held on college campuses and via Zoom last summer under the sponsorship of AAUW.
After welcoming the audience of AAUW members, Tech Trek Scholars and their parents, local AAUW director Vicki Reeder distributed certificates of achievement to the Tech Trek campers. Each of the campers talked briefly about their favorite activities at camp, which ranged from making motorized beanies, jam and cheese using science to meeting women influencers in STEM.
Shea discussed her early fascination with science and particularly with the ocean, and how that interest led her to participation in science fairs while in middle school, to a degree in environmental systems engineering at Stanford, to a Rhodes Scholarship and a degree in social sciences at Oxford and now back to Stanford at the new interdisciplinary School of Sustainability.
Her research focuses on how human-caused effects such as acidification and over-fishing impact the ocean environment and includes not only field research in Monterey and Half Moon Bay, but also interviews with stakeholders including marine scientists, fishermen and beach-goers.
In a Q&A session following her talk, Shea acknowledged that she had experienced some prejudice against women in her career path.
“Don’t be discouraged if you encounter bias – it’s not about you,” Shea said. “It’s the way our society still thinks. It’s getting better, but the bias is still there. Don’t let it push you down.”
For more information on the local branch of AAUW, visit lamv-ca.aauw.net.
