The Society of Physics Students and the Life Sciences Society organized this semester’s first Women in STEM Day event at CSUN on Feb. 10 in the Donald Bianchi Planetarium.

The event brought together students and professors for an evening focused on fostering diversity and inclusion in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Through keynote speakers, it provided a platform for discussing women’s challenges in STEM fields and offered resources for those looking to advance in these industries.

The event was organized by the Society of Physics Students President Amanda Medjaouri, who majors in astrophysics, and the Life Sciences Society President Hannah Duat, a senior majoring in psychology.

Before the speakers began, both presidents shared a special presentation highlighting notable women in STEM, including Chien-Shiung Wu, a Chinese-American physicist known for groundbreaking work in experimental physics; Sally Ride, the first female American astronaut; Ada Lovelace, an English mathematician and the world’s first computer programmer; and Rosalind Franklin, a British scientist who made significant contributions to the discovery of DNA’s molecular structure.

Duat introduced the first guest speaker of the night, Rachel Mackelprang, a microbiologist and professor at CSUN. Complete with a presentation, Mackelprang shared her career journey and the importance of a strong supportive system to survive in a rigorous, male-dominated field.

According to Mackelprang, her grandmother was her first supporter and when she reached the University of Utah, her family supported her.

Mackelprang began researching hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) for the first project of her undergraduate experience. During graduate school at the Genome Science University of Washington, she received a doctorate in genetics and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the Joint Genome Institute.

“In graduate school, support systems are just as crucial as ever,” Mackleprang said, sharing how she got support from her advisor and enjoyed her labs and work.

After finishing her education, she married her now-husband, saying she has been successful in STEM because her husband treats her career equally important to his own.

“I see this happen a lot of times with women in STEM; there are two careers in the families, and the husband’s job or career takes precedence. Here, neither one took precedence,” she said. “We both looked at our opportunities, we looked at what would work and then took decisions based on that. Having this system where my work and effort are just as valued was absolutely critical to continue staying in science.”

The second speaker of the night was Astrophysicist Farisa Morales, who works with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), LA Mission College and CSUN as a professor of astronomy.

Morales’ career and education started much later than Mackleprang. After graduating high school, she initially did not pursue college. She was later encouraged to return, but not before getting married and having two children. Despite spending two years at Mission College without a close support system familiar with college life, she discovered her passion for mathematics and transferred to UCLA.

After earning her bachelor’s degree from UCLA, Morales chose to continue her education by pursuing a master’s in physics at CSUN while beginning her first summer internship at JPL. After completing her internship, Morales remained at JPL and has worked for NASA ever since.

“What I want to emphasize here is that there was a huge impact in my life when you raise your hand. If you raise your hand, things happen,” she said.

Medajaouri shared her STEM background, as she has been an astrophysics major since starting at CSUN. While the campus is humanities-based, she said there are many overshadowed STEM clubs and a lack of science majors.

“I did notice that my physics classes have more women than previous physics classes,” said Medajaouri. “Having such events actually encourages women, or even gender minorities, to pursue a degree. They can be like, ‘Oh my God, this person is from the same community as me and look at what they are doing.’ There are no limitations whatsoever. You can pursue your dream and do whatever you want to do, and you should never give up.”

Medajaouri’s passion for science began in childhood, motivating her to pursue her dreams by selecting her major and eventually becoming the Society of Physics Students president.

“I believe advertising events like these really help,” she said. “Even if it’s really as little as just sharing the details and information and normally just spreading awareness, even over social media or email.”

After the speeches concluded, the Society of Physics Students club shared a brief presentation about the importance of mental health and the resources available at CSUN for students, such as the Oasis Center and the University Counseling Services.