STEM Spotlight: Impact of our STEMinist Program

January 23, 2025

Hannah is a Girl Scout in China and has attended Camp USAGSO in Germany, participates in our virtual STEMinist series and most recently joined the in-person robotics program in Japan. Read below to see how our STEMinist programming is making a difference in her life!

Back in 2019, my family and I left the U.S. to move to China. Everything was going well, and I was still connected to my Girl Scout troop back home via the Internet. Mom and I did our best to keep abreast of all things Girl Scout and then…Covid happened. China started the major shutdown that changed the trajectory of our Girl Scout connection because no one was going to school or having many sessions. Mom started researching online troops, and we joined. Online was great for awhile- I transitioned to being a Juliette, and we stay connected, but it got lonely.

I was not a huge fan of science, and especially not math. Mom encouraged me to try by signing me up for the STEMinist series. I learned that math and science went way beyond the tasks that I considered so boring and mentally challenging.

So year after year, Mom would invest in the STEMinist series. We cooked amazing dishes, watched how dance can relate to STEM, and even how genetics can be drivers of autoimmune diseases. Sometimes the time was incovenient, but we always had access to the recordings. Supplies we used were every day items we could gather from around the house. It opened my eyes to how I can practice sustainability.

Then something amazing happened- the world was opening up and we could travel again. I made it back to the states for the 2023 Girl Scout Convention Phenom and my love for Girl Scouts was renewed.

The STEM programs, I learned, were going to be part of the Camp USAGSO camps in three amazing locations, so Mom signed me up and I went to Germany for the summer where I met amazing Girl Scout sisters around the world and took a deeper dive into STEM. When I returned from camp, my Mom was excited to tell me that this year’s 2024-2025 STEMinist series was going to offer in-person sessions in lieu of our online sessions. So in good ol’ mom fashion, we flew to Okinawa, Japan for my first in-person STEMinist session where I got a chance to code, make a robot and meet some more amazing Girl Scout sisters.

My biggest Girl Scout take away about the STEMinist programs is that from virtual to real life is incredible!