This week’s Wednesday’s Woman in STEM shows us that STEM is not just for adults! Haley Baasansukh is a high school student who shares how she does STEM for her robotics team and helps support younger students in STEM activities.
When did you first become interested in STEM?
I became more familiar with STEM when I was in 3rd grade. I had the opportunity to join my school’s Marine Science club, where I got to learn about science explains what’s around us in nature! From there, I became involved in my local First LEGO League Robotics club throughout the rest of my elementary school years.
Where do you go to school and what did you study?
I am still currently in high school at Washington-Liberty! I’m currently interested in learning more about chemistry. Throughout my journey in STEM, I’ve been able to qualify for a national competition with my very own science experiment!
How do you use your interests in STEM on a day-to-day basis?
Currently, I work as a mentor for my former FLL Robotics team. I help my team every week with programming errors that they may run into, and we work them out together! I’ve been able to use my knowledge of various coding languages to help them throughout their own STEM journey.
What do you like most about your current job? What do you find most challenging?
I love working with students and being able to see their faces light up when they’re involved in STEM activities. They are so proud of the work that they’ve put into their projects, but even more so, looking to keep exploring and keep going. I would say the most challenging is being able to explain certain coding situations, when you haven’t been working on that student’s project the entire time. What I’ve done to overcome that though, is sitting down and working through every step of their project. When you finally find that one error and tried a variety of ways, while getting the result that you want – that’s the most rewarding feeling of all!
What advice would you give to young girls who are interested in pursuing STEM activities or careers?
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. I used to beat myself up for ‘messing up’ but working through frustrating snags is all a part of the process! It means you’re learning than you ever would if you never made mistakes.
Anything else you’d like to share?
I’ve crocheted several ‘ear-savers’ for health-care workers in my areas throughout the year. I’ve also made my passion into another full-time job, where I get to crochet and work on the projects that I love! I love having a platform to share my creations on.