Women in Science club thrives three years after forming
By Amantha Davis - Senior, English Major
M
eeting in a Webb City café, a small group of passionate
The club also uses social media
Missouri Southern students met to discuss how they
to highlight women who have
could bring future female scientists together.
accomplished great feats in the STEM field and were not recognized
Their idea of forming a club began to take shape, with
for their work. They include Isabella
Women in Science (WIS) becoming a registered student
Karle, who discovered a way to
organization in the spring of 2019. Three years later, it has
determine molecular structures; and
become one of the most active clubs on campus.
Alice Augusta Ball, who was the first woman and African American to receive a
The club provides a safe space for women working on their
master’s degree from the University of Hawaii and
undergraduate degree in a STEM field and the opportunity
went on to revolutionize leprosy treatment.
to discuss common science issues and lift one another up to achieve greater goals.
“This club thrives with passionate, dedicated officers and committed members,” said Dr. Jency
“Because STEM is a very male-dominated field, providing
Sundararajan, associate professor of physics and
a space for women to have a community of like-minded
adviser for WIS. “Their active participation has
people was one of the main goals of the founders of this
made it one of the most prominent student
club,” said Rebekah Sweyko, a senior advanced medical
organizations on campus in a short period.”
school acceptance program student and current president of WIS.
For more information about WIS, you can find them on Instagram (@
Members promote WIS through special events as well as
mssugrlpwr) or by email at
fundraising and volunteer efforts. Recently, they worked
mssuwomeninscience@
with Joplin’s Creative Learning Alliance to present a variety
gmail.com.
of experiments to teach kids about the wonders of science.
M I S S O U R I S O U T H E R N S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
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