Women and science do not mix: It’s a stereotype that continues, ironically, despite the prevailing data that show girls are more likely than boys to take biology, chemistry and pre-calculus and earn higher GPAs in maths and sciences in the United States.

When the internet giant Google launched its $50 million campaign “Made with Code” to encourage girls to learn to code, one of its rationales was that if women are not represented in technology, their ideas, concerns, and designs will not be included when we create the cities, cars, medicines, communications, businesses, and governments of tomorrow.

STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The fields that make up STEM have produced answers to some of the most profound questions of our existence. They have also created thrilling roller coasters and cinema special effects, saved precious plants and animals from extinction, led to important cures for debilitating diseases and forever altered the way in which we communicate.

Perhaps because BHS is an all-girls school until IB, we have seen our graduates go on to pursue degrees and careers in engineering, medicine, dentistry, technology and more. This commitment to the sciences is reflected in the recent purchase of a RD printer and the introduction of a robotics club this year.

Torchbearer spoke with four recent university graduates and BHS alumnae about how and why they chose a career in science.

Like any career, some women know they want to pursue the sciences almost from birth, where as others find their way into this field through trial and error.

Dr Erin Jackson ’08 says she knew she wanted to be a veterinarian all the way back in P1 and has been striving towards that goal ever since.

“Throughout my 13 years at BHS, I selected subjects with a view to applying for vet school,” she says. “I took Double Science at GCSE and Higher Biology and Higher Chemistry at IB, knowing that these subjects would be critical for me to achieve my dream.”

Today Erin is back in Bermuda having joined a new veterinarian service on the Island.

By comparison, Dr Lara Loescher ’08 says she just kept taking science courses at BHS because she liked them.

“I like how precise and calculated the sciences are,” says Lara. “Almost all of our knowledge within the sciences has been measured and tested. I also like how there are so many unanswered questions and room for discovery, research and development.”

Lara eventually decided to pursue Dentistry because it requires both “a clinical mindset and manual dexterity.”

“I got into my first choice university, University of Bristol, where I studied for five years. Since graduating in June 2013, I have worked as an Oral Surgeon at the University of Bristol Dental Hospital and am currently working in a General Dental Practice in central London.”

But merely liking the subjects will never be enough to master them. A career path in the sciences will require taking on a heavy academic load and the determination to see it through.

“My five years at the Royal Veterinary College were a real rollercoaster of ups and downs,” says Erin. “From the feeling of pride in achieving the highest first year exam grade in my year of 200 students to the crippling exhaustion from a 14-hour overnight shift in the Emergency department of the biggest small animal referral hospital in Europe. It’s an experience I would not trade for anything in the world.”

Dr Danielle Farrington’s ‘07 journey followed a similar route. After graduating from McGill University in 2010, Danielle went on to attend Emory University School of Medicine where she completed her Doctor of Medicine in 2014. She is now a resident physician in Internal Medicine at the University of Chicago. “I was always most interested in biology, and was fascinated in particular with the human body and how it works. I was encouraged to pursue science by my parents and teachers,” says Danielle. “In particular, Ms Gunther, Mr Thorpe and Ms Banneel were excellent role models, and I was inspired by how interested and enthusiastic they were about the material that they were teaching.”

The encouragement and support these young women have received at BHS has proven vital, giving them an opportunity to explore the sciences and follow their passions to create fulfilling careers.

“In my short time as a doctor, I have most loved the opportunity to meet and hear the stories of people from all walks of life. I am honoured to be with them during times of health and need,” says Danielle. “Medicine is an ever-developing field with infinite research and learning opportunities. I am excited by the prospect of a career that will constantly challenge me to grow and further develop my skills.”

What these women have experienced in pursuit of their talents and dreams is that, despite the stereotype, women are now taking their rightful place in the scientific fields.

“I believe that the stereotype of women in medicine is rapidly dissolving, such that it is almost non-existent today,” says Danielle.

Her fellow alumnae say there is scientific evidence to verify the point.

“A few decades ago, the veterinary profession was predominantly male, however in recent years there has been a massive gender shift so that 80 per cent of students in vet school are female,” Erin says. “A study conducted in the US in 2010 concluded that this is mainly due to legislation passed in 1972 that now prevents discrimination against female applicants, men feeling deterred from applying to vet school due to the female predominance, and that more women than men are now achieving Bachelor’s degrees.” (Veterinary medicine is a postgraduate degree in the US, unlike in the UK.)

Women are clearly blazing trails in the science fields, and not just as doctors and dentists. Emily Dunne’s ‘10 passion turned out to be engineering — something she learned, literally, through her opportunities at BHS.

“While at BHS, I took as many science classes as possible,” Emily says. “I really enjoyed physics and wrote my Extended Essay in the subject — about the force and angle required to successfully shoot a basketball free throw.”

That experience required building her own measurement apparatus from scratch using wood and inner tubes, a process she so enjoyed it convinced her to look into mechanical engineering as a university major.

“My GCSE/IB1 physics teacher really encouraged me to take on the challenge,” she says of her Extended Essay project.

“I have always been a hands-on learner. I grew up playing with Lego and taking apart broken appliances at home to see what was inside.

“Mechanical engineering is really just a more sophisticated version of that.”

At university, Emily got to be a part of a number of exciting, hands-on projects including building a robotic exoskeleton for wheelchair-bound people and a device to measure drill bits with extreme precision.

With her undergraduate programme completed, Emily is presently working as an aircraft Structural Engineer and looking forward to continuing her education while working.

“I was really lucky to go to a university where the engineering school is split equally between men and women,” she says. “Engineering is often thought of as a man’s field but my university classes showed me that there is no reason that it should be that way. I’ve never seen anyone do better in class just because they were male.”