#WomenInSTEM Interview
Hello again Steminists! It's so nice to have a break from online work and take time out of a hectic week to chat with you! This is our third interview of the #WomenInSTEM interviews and we are pleased to announce there are roughly 50 more to come! The interest you guys have shown in this is truly amazing and I'm sure that will motivate us on to edit and complete each and every one! How have you all been this week? Tweet us your best and worst moments of your week, we'd love to hear them. Please keep doing your amazing work; many of our followers are teachers, NHS workers or key scientists and we are so grateful for you!
Today's interview is with Sophia Lee Roberts, who is doing physics and philosophy at King's College London, as well as being the president of their 'Womxn in Physics' society! Not only this, but Sophia is the vice chair of UKSEDS which is an organisation for students to engage in space exploration. She is also on the Space and Engineering Foundation Board which has recently done a Galactic Challenge Space Competition and our founders all entered it and we absolutely loved taking part! We're looking forward to seeing what the next competition is! You can find Sophia on Twitter @SophiaLRoberts
Cellfie: When did you first realize you wanted to do STEM?
Sophia: I don’t think I ever had a particular ‘eureka’ moment where I realised I wanted to do STEM. At school I was always drawn towards STEM subjects and spent hours in labs doing extra-curricular activities, whether it was designing space settlements, playing with raspberry pis or building robots. I’m a strong believer in doing what excites you or makes you happy, until it doesn’t - so I just kept going with the subjects I loved most.
Cellfie: That is so true! Many of our founders didn't discover their love for science until earlier this year. Once we started entering competitions and were exposed to new areas and fascinating fields we fell in love! We have actually just won a Raspberry Pi for a competition we won and should be getting it sometime soon. We are so excited and let us know whether you would like to see updates on what we do with it and what we think! :)
Did you ever want to do anything else?
Sophia: I’ve wanted to do pretty much everything under the sun at some point or another – I very nearly ended up doing a law degree. I finally decided to do Physics and Philosophy because I knew I definitely loved the two subjects (and didn’t have to choose between them). But I think its ok to not know exactly what you want to do and to be open to new opportunities, because you never know what might come your way and you may just stumble upon something that is even more perfect for you, that you’d never considered before!
Cellfie: Wow, you're truly multi-talented! We think it can sometimes be a big pressure to pick between humanities and "Englishy" subjects and STEM ones. What if you love both? Many of our founders also love English and history just as much as STEM. You shouldn't go into STEM just for "better career prospects", find a degree or profession that you love and incorporates all of your skills!
What is your favourite shop?
Sophia: I think my answer here is that I just like to shop – but if I really had to choose one, it would have to be a bookshop. I always feel like a kid in a candy store (those are pretty good too!) because there are just so many worlds that you could step into, you never know what you’re going to come out with.
Cellfie: Definitely! Reading is something everyone can enjoy! The best part is, in many areas in the UK, we have access to libraries which means we can immerse ourselves into millions of books while not contributing to climate change and saving money!
What is your favourite food?
Sophia: My favourite food has to be doughnuts - I can’t get enough of them! My guilty pleasure used to be working my way through a pack of 5 custard doughnuts on the way to ballet practice.
Cellfie: That is so relatable- we absolutely love Krispy Kremes and pretty much any doughnut! That's so cool that you do ballet, two of our founders LOVE dance. This is a prime example of not having to choose between "femininity" (if that even exists!) and rocking a STEM career.
What is your most embarrassing moment in your life?
Sophia: This is a tough one – I think it has to be last summer during my internship at a start-up. I’d been asked to put together a research presentation for the COO and when I got into the room to present it, my line manager plugged my laptop into the big screen – immediately music started blaring out of the big speakers which could be hear throughout the entire office! I like to work with music on and turns out I’d muted my playlist with headphones still plugged in. The scramble to find a way to turn it off may not have been the best way to start a meeting, but I think I managed to win her over by the end of it.
Cellfie: Ahhh! Can anyone else relate to those moments where you just want to kick yourself? I'm actually listening to music while writing this- my favourites to work to are Kate Bush and Fleetwood Mac. Does anyone want to see a walkthrough of our founders' playlists?
Now this is our favourite question: What is your favourite science joke?
Sophia: How do you organise a space party? You planet!
Cellfie: You did not disappoint with that one- we find the cheesier the better! :)
Have you ever had any setbacks or been told you are a girl so cannot do STEM?
Sophia: I’ve been very lucky – my family has always encouraged me to go into STEM (I was very much the child who got chemistry sets for Christmas and spent days building things out of Lego) and even still, my grandad is the first to ask me if I’ve heard of the latest bit of space news that’s going on. I think going to an all-girls school was also really great for me, because you’re never going to feel outnumbered in a maths or physics class, and there’s such a fantastic can-do attitude.
Cellfie: We totally agree, single sex education can help massively with that feeling of belonging in STEM classes. Your Grandad sounds awesome and we definitely relate to the sciency Christmas presents!
Is there a problem with sexism in the STEM community?
Sophia: I’ve never personally experienced sexism within the STEM community, but there’s still a way to go before we get equal representation with it. For example, in my Physics class at university, only about 30% are women – and that’s one of the best ratios in the country! In other subjects like computer science or maths it can be lower, and as you progress up the academic chain (Master’s degrees to PhDs to Academics), that ratio tends to drop off even further. But this is by no means just a men vs women problem, there are subjects where the ratios are reversed and there are many other groups - be it to do with ethnicity, sexuality, socio-economic backgrounds… - which are under-represented too.
Cellfie: True! There are many groups of individuals that are definitely not represented fully in the STEM community. We should all work together to break down the barriers that stop these groups from flourishing in STEM careers! It's so sad to hear that 30% is one of the highest percent of women in your class; this is exactly why we created Cellfie!
Finally, What’s your message for young girls wanting to do STEM?
Sophia: To quote Nike: “Just do it!” If you love a subject (regardless of whether it’s STEM related) just go for it and don’t let anyone tell you, you can’t.
Cellfie: And what a fabulous note to end on, we love that message! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer all of our questions and I'm sure our readers have thoroughly enjoyed exploring your inspirations and career! Make sure to subscribe to our blog and check out other sections of our website so you are up to date with everything Cellfie! We have some more exciting blog posts to come out this week.
