Maggie Walker has remained one of the nation’s most prestigious and coveted schools to attend, and its focus on international studies has propelled students to become extremely successful in their future endeavors. Even further than the curriculum, extracurricular activities and student-led clubs at the school have aided students in discovering their paths in life. Despite the immense success that the globally-minded environment and school curriculum have on students, its focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is considered to be significantly behind other prominent schools. Since Maggie Walker’s focus tends to drift away from STEM, the question arises– should STEM education even be prioritized at a school known for its global studies emphasis?

Since its opening, Maggie Walker has made efforts to make their courses engaging for STEM pursuers and is still adding new and improved courses. We decided to investigate just how important this is, interviewing student leaders in STEM extracurriculars. When asked for a response on this topic, Will Eisenhauer (‘23), Chief Technical Officer of the MW Robotics Team 422, replied enthusiastically. “Absolutely. STEM is not just pure math, it’s not just pure science. It’s about looking at a problem and figuring out how you are going to get from point A to point B, and how to engineer your way through the process.” Will goes on to say, “This is very applicable in a global relations school that’s so focused on language because that iterative process of problem solving can be applied to global issues as well.” Maggie Walker’s immense focus on political and global relations is incomplete without a background in STEM. Through participating in STEM activities and courses, students are more likely to acquire crucial technical skills such as design, organization, and problem solving that are likely to intersect with many career paths.

Additionally, those Maggie Walker students pursuing social studies, global leadership and humanities, may question where STEM classes are even needed for their career path. Lexi Pasternak (‘22), Chief Communications Officer for the MLWGS Robotics Team, is a stellar example of a person who has used STEM to further her studies in Social Sciences, demonstrating just how important a well-rounded STEM education is. Her experience has taught her that “having a degree in scientific literacy, in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math are basics for living an informed life and making decisions about your finances, your health, etc.”

In the last 30 years, technology has taken center stage in every aspect of life. Whether it’s basic understanding of IT, or simple knowledge of your car’s mechanics, providing foundations in STEM allows students to express themselves and gain a better understanding of the world around them. Despite focusing on humanities within the school, Lexi believes she gained “a well rounded knowledge of STEM, graphic designing, and leadership skills through [her] affiliation with Robotics.” For Pasternak, being a part of such a prominent STEM club allowed her to be able to take her interest in humanities to a higher level.

Furthermore, even though Maggie Walker is known for its meticulous and driven student body, high school is still high school. It is the time to experiment, to find out who you are as a person, and to find out what your interests are. STEM not only helps students discover their interests, but also introduces them to a whole new community. In Pooja Muthuraj’s (‘22) case, this time meant finding out what her future would be. Muthuraj is a Regional officer in an organization called the Technology Student Association, a national organization hosting STEM-related challenges and competitions. She joined in her freshman year, unsure of what this would entail. “My first year in TSA, there was a speaker at our TSA state competition, and he asked the question, “How many of you plan to go into STEM as a career field?” She later went on to say, “I did not raise my hand. I was actually not planning on going into STEM at all, but participating in TSA, being exposed to these challenges, and later becoming a regional officer just gave me so much confidence in my own ability to be successful in the STEM field.” Nearly 4 years after entering Maggie Walker as a novice freshman, Pooja is now planning to major in Public Health in college, acknowledging that she had, “done a complete 180°!” If she had never taken a chance, “never stepped out of [her] comfort zone to take more advanced science and math classes,” Muthuraj wouldn’t have found her passion this early.

Whether you consider yourself a “STEM person,” or not, the impact that STEM education can have on a student is clear. To truly become a global leader, one must first learn to understand the world. It’s been 20 years since the invention of the first social media platform, 15 years since the release of the first Apple iPhone, and 10 years since Tesla’s first electric vehicle. The world is changing faster than ever, and it is imperative that our education system changes with it.

Under our social-studies-specialized curriculum, students must take the time to find these STEM- related educational activities. This could mean joining a club, such as Robotics, TSA, or the engineering club, or adding higher-level math and science courses to your curriculum. Whatever path is taken, the experience that is gained from these opportunities will last a lifetime.