Gen Y Women WISE Up to Careers in STEM

June 19, 2013 by Tamara Bell

Dr. Robyn McKay, founder, WISE

Dr. Robyn McKay is an award-winning psychologist and founder of the Women in Science and Engineering leadership development program in the College of Technology and Innovation at Arizona State University-Polytechnic. A licensed psychologist in Arizona, Robyn holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Kansas. At ASU, Robyn serves as the psychologist for the Gary K. Herberger Young Scholars Academy and, in 2010, was awarded the university’s prestigious Commission for the Status on Women Outstanding Achievement Award for her work with women in leadership.

While two-thirds of all undergraduate degrees and 60 percent of master’s degrees now go to women, they still remain vastly underrepresented in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. At a time when women are increasingly prominent in medicine and law, why are there so few women computer scientists, mathematicians, and engineers? And what’s being done at our colleges to counter this phenomenon? Robyn joins Keeping Up with Gen Y to talk about the need for Gen Y women who excel in math, science, and technology to take their rightful place beside their male counterparts both inside and outside the classroom. She also discusses how creating a community of like-minded peers can help female STEM students build themselves up and propel their careers forward.

Filed Under: World Tagged With: Arizona State University, College of Technology and Innovation, engineering, entrepreneurship, gen y, Keeping Up with Gen Y, math, Robyn McKay, Science, STEM, tamara bell, technology, wise

About Tamara Bell

Tamara Bell is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Y Gen Out Loud, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that provides a platform for Generation Yto discuss national politics and public policy issues.

Tamara began her journalism career as a staff reporter for the Dallas Times Herald. A few years later, she moved to York, Pa., as a political reporter for the York Dispatch, covering local, state, and national government as well as writing investigative stories for the mid-sized daily newspaper.

A Texas girl at heart, Tamara returned to Dallas a year later to work as press relations director for the re-election campaign of U.S. Rep. John Bryant. The next year, she moved to Austin and the Texas Legislature, where she stayed for 15 years. While at the Legislature, Tamara worked for Democratic House members as Chief-of-Staff and Press Secretary, and as a Senior Policy Analyst for the Senate State Affairs Committee chaired by a Republicansenator.

In 1996, Tamara became co-owner of a political newsletter covering state issues and elections. As Editor-in-Chief, Tamara helped shape the weekly publication into a must-read for state officials, legislative aides, and lobbyists. More recently, Tamara wrote a regular column analyzing coverage by the Texas Capitol Press Corps for an online political publication. She also works as a lecturer in the Advertising Department at The University of Texasat Austin.

Tamara has also been a judge for the 2010 Bright Ideas Award given by the Texas Daily Newspaper Association, served as a panelist at the Society of Professional Journalists 2010 Region 8 Conference where the theme was How to Save Journalism, and has been a guest lecture for the Advertising Department’s Internship course, speaking about the jobs outlook for graduating seniors.

Tamara earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Journalism from The University of Texas at Austin, and her B.A. in Journalism from Texas A&M University. She resides in Austin with her son, Jackson.

Tamara Bell is also the Host of Keeping Up with Gen Y on WomensRadio. Keeping Up with Gen Y offers discussions, interviews, and commentary about important issues of the day from the perspective of Generation Y (18-to 30-years-old). Aimed at all generations interested in learning about and inspiring young people, this show features professionals, experts, researchers, and members of Gen Y who share insights and experiences about the topics on the minds of today’s young adults.