I AM STEM Student Speaking Contest

The I AM STEM speaking contest was designed to help Penn State's Eberly College of Science students develop and share stories of their science journey!  Winners of the contest have been Keynote Speakers at our ENVISION: STEM Career Day Supporting Young Women event where they have been able to inspire other burgeoning STEM minds!

Contest Objectives:

• To develop the science communication abilities of Eberly College of Science students
• To identify and showcase Eberly College of Science students with inspiring, authentic STEM stories
• To identify keynote speakers from the Eberly College of Science student community who can inspire and inform students and families who attend our ENVISION: STEM Career Day Supporting Young Women.  

To learn more about the competition - check out our I AM STEM program video here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCCL9qm9M_8

Also, check out the Penn State Today story about the 2019 I AM STEM competition!

Enter This Year's Contest!

Students from the Eberly College of Science are invited to enter the contest by submitting a short, written essay and a 60-second introductory video. 

This year's essay prompt is: Every science student has a dream or some kind of motivating goal. Describe what has motivated you to make a difference through science. How has this driving motivation guided your choice in your field of study and influenced your thoughts on future career paths? Based on where your journey has taken you so far, what advice can you give to young women who are just beginning to think about how to navigate their futures in science?  

Round 1 Deadline: Friday, November 8, 2024, by 5 p.m.

Contestants who are asked to continue onto Round 2 will present a mini-keynote speech of 5- to 7-minutes on Wednesday, December 4, 2024 at 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. After the completion of Round 2, successful contestants will be awarded prizes of Amazon Gift Cards in the following amounts:

1st Place: $250  - 2nd Place: $150 - 3rd Place: $100

Complete rules and instructions will be published soon.

Congratulations to our 2023-2024 Winners!

Congratulations to our 2022-2023 Winners!

Past Winners and Participants

Congratulations to the 2021-2022 Winners!

1st Place: Ellie Abraham (Biology Doctoral Student)

Ellie's ENVISION Keynote Speech

2nd Place: Margaret Brown (Mathematics Doctoral Student)

Margaret's ENVISION Keynote Speech

Congratulations to the 2020-2021 Winners!

1st Place: Sarah Chapman (Chemistry Doctoral Student)

2nd Place: Sarah Pfaff (Plant Biology Doctoral Student)

3rd Place: Phoebe McClincy (Astronomy and Astrophysics Undergraduate Student)

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Our 1st and 2nd place winners presented Keynote Speeches at ENVISION 2021: STEM Career Day Supporting Young Women!

Watch Sarah Chapman's ENVISION Keynote Speech.

Watch Sarah Pfaff's ENVISION Keynote Speech.

Congratulations to the 2019 winners!

1st Place: Latisha Franklin (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Doctoral Student) 

Check out Latisha's keynote speech here: https://youtu.be/c3ZMlwm-P4o

2nd Place: Yasha Duggal (Chemistry Doctoral Student)

3rd Place: Albaine Hendrickson-Stives (Chemistry Doctoral Student)

We have also posted the final 2017 winner keynote talks as well as a few of the "mini keynotes" that our competitors gave during the 2018 competition on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZI9S-ReVMf6PFPyWrZNgdmX_W8RqCh0i . Check them out!

Questions?

Contact us via email at outreach@science.psu.edu or give us a call at (814) 865-0501

 Office of Science Outreach, 201 Ritenour Building, University Park, PA 16802