Celebrating Women In STEM

Before our mid-winter break, 150 high school students and faculty attended an inspiring hour-long panel discussion featuring four women from the Sacramento area whose careers are in the STEM field. Including:

• Jenae Owen - Certified Flight Instructor at Skyrise Aviation
• Dr. Clare Yellowley - Professor in the Department of Anatomy, Physiology, and Cell Biology in the School of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis
• Suganya Parthasarathy - Graphics and AI Hardware Engineering director
• Laura Kester Prakash - Division Chief, Department of Pediatrics, Adolescent Medicine

The panel shared, uplifted, and celebrated their experiences as a minority in their field. Questions ranged from who inspired them to how men can support their female coworkers, as well as experience early in their careers, and supporting confidence in young girls. 

This event was organized by Ava Dunham ‘26, and she shared that her “goal of this panel is to share, celebrate, and acknowledge everything it means to be a woman in STEM.”  She further notes that, “women make up 35% of students in STEM disciplines worldwide and according to the US bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024, women make up 17.2% of all Architecture and Engineering occupations (a 0.7% increase from 2020), 26.4% of all Computer and Mathematical occupations (a 1.2% increase from 2020), 46.3% of all chemists and material scientists (a 5.9% increase from 2020), and 54.7% of all biological scientists (an 8.7% increase from 2020).”

Moments like these reflect the power of learning within our own community. Sharing real stories, meaningful dialogue, and visible role models inspires our students to think critically, build confidence, and envision their own place in shaping the future of STEM.