According to Ms. Smith, “In 2020, two women won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. This was a groundbreaking win for Emmanuelle Carpentier and Jennifer Doudna for their development of CRISPR, a gene-editing technology. In my lifetime, there have only been 2 other women that have won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Frances H. Arnold for her study of enzyme evolution in 2018, and Ada E. Yonath for her study of the structure and function of ribosomes in 2009. Every other winner during my lifetime has been male (64 males and 4 females).”

Ms. Smith goes on to state, “It is important for our female students to be able to envision themselves in STEM. Historically, scientific development has focused on men. Nowadays, it still leans that way. I hope to instill in my students that women can achieve anything. In the future, I hope to see that science education and curriculum includes more diverse figures for students to look up to.”

Currently, Ms. Smith teaches AP Chemistry, Honors Chemistry, and Forensic Science. As a science educator, Ms. Smith aims to empower her students to question the world around them. As she states, “My goal is to be a positive role model for students who want to enter the STEM field.”