Afro STEM club grows on campus

As autumn leaves transition to winter bleakness, buds are blooming for CSB/SJU’s new Afro STEM club.

Founded on Oct. 14, Afro STEM is a club geared towards BIPOC individuals and women who feel underrepresented in the STEM field. At CSB/SJU, BIPOC students and women make up a small percentage of all STEM majors. While the club establishes its roots this semester, leaders are primarily focused on recruitment and forming a strong sense of community. In particular, Afro STEM plans to concentrate on recruiting first-year Bennie and Johnnie representatives.

During their recruitment process, the club seeks to direct their efforts to building community through study sessions intended for underrepresented STEM students.

Vice President of Afro STEM and CSB sophmore Alex Lewis-Smith explained her motivation for establishing these safe spaces for students to interact in a way that many may not see in the classroom.

“I remember having days in my chem classes where I was the only person of color there. It didn’t feel like I could go to the TA, or sometimes the professors were too busy to talk and then sometimes you get shunned from your group because they like to stay amongst themselves,” Lewis-Smith said. “That’s very discouraging when you constantly do this every day, and you see the same results.”

Through the study sessions, students will be able to interact with professors and teacher assistants who may have been otherwise busy during class times. It will also give underrepresented students in STEM a sense of belonging on campus through interactions between those with similar classroom experiences.

After gaining a foothold on campus, Afro STEM hopes to host student panels, guest speakers and mentorship programs to uplift student voices and create a safe space for women and BIPOC students.

Afro STEM Event Coordinator and SJU sophmore Elijah Browne expressed his main goal for the club as a place to encourage students to continue their studies in STEM despite their struggles with underrepresentation.

“My personal goal is to make sure that not another student of color has to ask themselves, ‘Should I switch my major because I don’t feel like I’m wanted here?’ because we hear that a lot more often than we would like to say,” Browne said.

The club’s faculty advisor and economics professor Sucharita Mukherjeee discussed the future importance and necessity of clubs like Afro STEM on college campuses to encourage those entering STEM fields to be uplifted by their peers.

“Going forward, in terms of enrollments for both CSB and SJU, we need to be more welcoming and inclusive to students of color,” Mukherjee said. “In terms of national demographics, the groups that are really poised to be growing on college campuses are women and particularly women of color.”

With the launch of the Multicultural Center and the newfound hope for change at CSB/SJU, leaders of the Afro STEM club find motivation from their passion for their STEM majors and the desire for representation in the fields they love.

“This is something I’m passionate about, so I know that there’s other students who are equally as passionate, but they just need that sense of ‘you got this’ and empowerment,” Lewis-Smith said. “They need that sense of courage that you can keep fighting this fight.”