By Amanda Ojeda and Colleen Meosky
On Friday, February 5th, Girl Up hosted their second panel of the school year to educate students on different challenges and opportunities there are for women in their professions. This panel’s topic was Women in S.T.E.M.. Panelists Danielle Fortier, Nell Meosky, and Ira Bhatia gave attendees valuable insight to their experiences in digital product design, tech healthcare, and psychiatric research respectively.Â
Danielle Fortier
Ms. Fortier said she’s always been interested in graphic design, but she tried out various positions until she found her spot in product design for the website and app of Canvas, a digital asset for education. She shared that the environment at each job has been different with some more respectful than others. Fortunately, Ms. Fortier said that she’s seeing an increase in the number of women in her field and encouraged the girls to give it a shot if they are interested in it.
from Canvas Technology
Nell Meosky-Luo
Nell Meosky during her high school years, was initially unsure of the profession she desired to pursue. Testing different majors during her college years, eventually led her to her major in the History of Medicine. Later, she started her own company called Folia Health. Which encompasses many different aspects of S.T.E.M., including tech healthcare. As the CEO of her company and as a young female entrepreneur, she gave attendees insight on her own personal experiences. She shared that she doesn’t have to deal with much discrimination based on her gender, but some people are wary to work with a young entrepreneur.
Ira Bhatia
Mrs. Bhatia is part of the Psychiatry Department at ECMC in the research section. She lived in India before coming to the US and was a teacher there for underprivileged children. Mrs. Bhatia decided to enter the psychiatry field to help learn more about the issues she saw her students deal with. She explained that she feels strong support for her work from all of her colleagues. The psychiatric field has more women than men, so girls do not usually face discrimination when pursuing a career in this field.
Photo from ECMC
Girl Up is very grateful for our three panelists for spending the time to speak with us and share their experiences. Our members loved hearing their stories and words of encouragement.
Anyone interested in joining Girl Up can contact Amanda Ojeda, Colleen Meosky, or Mrs. Fey-Daly. Our email is [email protected]
