Bipasha Ray is not your typical 10th-grader. She spends her summers in India and Nepal spreading awareness about heart health and helping diagnose rural children with rheumatic heart disease. She’s a trailblazer! Last November, she became one of the youngest presenters in the history of the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions. On April 5, Bipasha and her sister, Meghna, will inspire high school girls to follow in their footsteps at the second-annual STEM Goes Red in New York City.
STEM Goes Red is the American Heart Association’s new initiative to empower high school aged-girls to pursue STEM careers and become driving forces for health in their communities.
“STEM Goes Red is important for young women because it opens their eyes to all the different science, technology, engineering, and math career opportunities that are out there,” says Lauren Cutting, Senior Director of Enterprise Delivery at CVS Health.
Millions of STEM jobs are becoming available in the United States, but there are not enough skilled workers to fill them. Moreover, women represent less than 25% of the STEM workforce, but earn on average 33% more when they work in these fields.
“Being able to do research is really cool! I think it’s important that young women like me are getting into STEM,” Bipasha Ray, 15, from Andover, Massachusetts said. “My sister and I have a wonderful example in our mother, who is a doctor, and she proves to us that women can make a difference in these important fields. I want to encourage more girls my age to aspire to be scientists, researchers, coders, doctors, engineers and more.”
STEM Goes Red NYC will take place at the New York Academy of Sciences from 8:30 a.m. – 3:45 p.m. and will bring together 100 local high school girls to explore STEM outside the classroom. The young women will gain first-hand experience, connect with inspiring executive mentors, and will walk away knowing they can make an impact through a promising career in an exciting STEM field.
Go Red for Women is nationally sponsored by CVS Health. New York City Goes Red sponsors are the Elizabeth Elting Foundation and ReWire Me by Rose Caiola. Life Is Why New York City sponsor is Mount Sinai and Salesforce is the Innovator sponsor.
Catalyst Sponsors include Accenture, Ernst & Young, McKinsey & Company, Northwell Health, Strongbow Consulting Group and TATA Consultancy Services. Pioneer Sponsors include Beacon Hill Staffing, Bridgewater Associates, Genpact, Infosys, Pfizer, Publicis Health, Randstad Technologies, Red Hat, ServiceNow and Xsell Resources.
For more information about Go Red For Women STEM Goes Red NYC, please visit stemgoesrednyc.heart.org or contact Chelsea Beecher at [email protected].