Profile: Lydia Grant
Lydia Grant has always liked going on hikes and being in nature with her family. So it’s not surprising that Lydia chose to follow the example of her older sister, who was a member of the Civic Garden Center’s Green Learning Team in 2014, and join the Green Girls in STEM program in 2018. “My sister would come home and tell me what a great program it was, and I’ve always been interested in the environment and issues related to sustainability,” Lydia explained. “No one in my family was surprised when I said I wanted to participate too.”
While her freshman biology class at Turpin covered the environmental issues, Lydia said it left her feeling like there was so much more to learn. To her, there just weren’t enough classes available to satisfy her growing curiosity about the environment.
The Green Girls in STEM program has influenced Lydia so much that because of it she now plans to study chemical engineering in college. “Through Green Girls in STEM I’ve been exposed to so many things. We got to fly a drone, learn about robotics and solar power and make something with a 3D printer,” Lydia said. “It exposed me to things that being in a classroom at school never could.”
Lydia understands that the course work for her degree will be tough and she says it’s never fun to one of only a few girls in a class. When it comes to studying STEM subjects at school, Lydia sees her male and female classmates performing equally well. Unfortunately, this parity doesn’t always carry over into the professional world where there is a significant gender gap in the science and technology workforces.
As important as it is to investigate what deters young women from pursuing these careers, Lydia says she’s grateful that Green Girls in STEM encourages girls to follow their dreams. Recently, while interviewing for the Eugene McDermott Scholars Program in Dallas, Lydia was able to impress them with her knowledge of Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs). “I would have no idea what a CSO even was if it weren’t for learning about stormwater through Green Girls,” she said.
While Lydia admits to being anxious about our changing climate, she recognizes that it’s likely to create a lot of job opportunities. “It’s going to take a lot of work but I’m hopeful. My favorite animal is the polar bear and I want to understand how and why the loss of sea ice habitat from our changing climate threatens their survival. I want to know how to help them,” Lydia said.