TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATH, SHE’S GIVING HER PEERS IN
A TOUGH NEIGHBORHOOD A CHANCE AT
A BETTER FUTURE.
>> EVERYONE, IF YOU CAN MAKE
SURE YOU HAVE YOUR APRONS ON,
GOGGLES DOWN, WE’LL GET STARTED.
>> A ROOM FULL OF BEAKERS AND
TUBES BUT WITH THE HELP OF
16-YEAR-OLD JACQUELINE, THESE
STUDENTS ARE LEARNING SCIENCE
CAN BE A WHOLE LOT OF FUN.
>> OH, MY GOD!
>> THEY COME IN WITH KIND OF A
WHAT ARE WE DOING TODAY?
SCIENCE, I DON’T EVEN LIKE THAT
STUFF.
STUFF. MY GOAL THROUGHOUT THE DAY IS TO
CHANGE THEIR MIND-SET ABOUT IT,
THAT’S NOT THE RIGHT WAY TO
THINK ABOUT IT.
STEM IS SO MUCH FUN, SO EXCITING
AND REALLY COOL.
>> JACQUELINE DISCOVERED HER
LOVE FOR SCIENCE AT A YOUNG AGE
AND WAS SURPRISED TO LEARN WOMEN
MAKE UP ONLY 29% OF PEOPLE IN
THE STEM FIELD.
>> IT WAS REALLY DISCOURAGING,
JUST TO SEE THAT IF I WERE TO GO
INTO THE STEM FIELD I WOULDN’T
HAVE THAT FEMALE BACKING TO
SUPPORT ME THE WHOLE WAY
THROUGH.
THROUGH. I SAID I WANT TO CHANGE THAT.
>> AND SO SHE DID.
JACQUELINE, FRUSTRATED BY A LACK
OF AFFORDABLE EDUCATION PROGRAMS
IN THE DELAWARE COMMUNITY,
FOUNDED THE URBAN STEM
INITIATIVE TO INTRODUCE YOUNG
GIRLS TO THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE.
IN A CITY NICKNAMED MURDERTOWN
USA FOR ITS HIGH RATES OF
VIOLENCE, SHE HOPED TO GIVE
GIRLS HERE A CHANCE TO BUILD A
BETTER FUTURE.
BETTER FUTURE. >> I WANTED TO BRING THIS WHOLE
IDEA TO LIFE OF HAVING A WHOLE
DAY OF FUN, STEM EDUCATION,
MAKING IT HANDS-ON AND EXCITING.
>> JUST LIKE THAT, WE’VE GOT
BLUE SNOW.
BLUE SNOW. SEE?
SEE? ISN’T THAT COOL?
IT’S VERY IMPORTANT, LETTING
THEM KNOW THAT THIS IS SOMETHING
THAT’S OUT THERE, SOMETHING YOU
CAN DO.
CAN DO. >> Reporter: OVER THE LAST TWO
YEARS SHE’S TAUGHT SIMPLE BUT
ENGAGING EXPERIMENTS TO OVER 400
GIRLS.
GIRLS. >> THAT’S SO AWESOME.
THESE BOTTLES ARE SUPER HOT,
GUYS.
GUYS. THAT IS ALL STEAM, RIGHT?
>> Reporter: EVEN GIFTING MANY
OF THEM WITH BOOK BAGS AND
SCHOOL SUPPLIES ALL AT NO COST.
>> SHE MAKES ME FEEL GREAT.
ESPECIALLY SEEING HER DO IT, IT
KIND OF GIVES ME -- GIVING ME
THAT SIGNAL LIKE I CAN DO IT,
TOO.
TOO. >> TO LIVE IN AN ENVIRONMENT
WHERE THERE’S NOT A LOT OF GIRLS
WHO LIKE SCIENCE AND THEN TO
COME SOMEWHERE AND IT’S LIKE ALL
SCIENCE AND LEARNING AND STUFF,
THAT’S REALLY GOOD.
>> Reporter: ONE DAY, JACQUELINE
HOPES TO IMPACT GIRLS OUTSIDE
HER COMMUNITY, TOO.
SHE’S ALREADY TAKEN HER CAUSE TO
THE NATIONAL STAGE AS A FINALIST
IN THE MISS AMERICA OUTSTANDING
TEEN COMPETITION.
TEEN COMPETITION. >> I WANT TO BE THAT GIRL, BE
THAT ROLE MODEL, BE THAT PERSON
IN THEIR CORNER, ROOTING FOR
THEM TO DO ANYTHING AND
EVERYTHING.
EVERYTHING. >> THANK YOU, MISS JACKIE.
>> AND WE ARE JOINED BY THE STEM
QUEEN HERSELF, JACQUELINE MEANS.
GOOD MORNING.
GOOD MORNING. >> GOOD MORNING.
>> SEEING YOUR EXCITEMENT AROUND
SCIENCE AND MATH AND ALL THE
EXPERIMENTS, I LOVE WHAT YOU’RE
DOING WITH THE KIDS.
>> THANK YOU SO MUCH.
>> WHAT’S THE REACTION FROM THE
KIDS, AS YOU SAW IN THAT SPOT
CLEARLY, THEY’RE EXCITED?
>> ABSOLUTELY.
>> ABSOLUTELY. THE GIRLS, WHENEVER THEY WALK
IN, YOU CAN TELL THEY’RE NOT
QUITE SURE WHAT WE’RE GOING TO
DO TODAY, THEY’RE NOT REALLY
EXCITED ABOUT IT.
AS WE GO THROUGHOUT THE DAY, THE
BIGGEST SMILES ARE SPREAD ACROSS
THEIR FACES AND THEIR EYES START
TO SPARKLE AND I KNOW I’M HAVING
A REAL IMPACT AND THEY’RE
GAINING EXCITEMENT ABOUT IT AND
REALLY WANT TO GET INTO IT.
>> I SAW THE TEARS THAT YOU
HAVE.
HAVE. I CAN SEE THE PASSION THAT YOU
HAVE FOR THESE KIDS.
WHERE IS THIS ALL GOING?
WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO?
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF
MONTHS, YEARS FROM NOW?
>> ABSOLUTELY.
>> ABSOLUTELY. I, MYSELF, WANT TO BE A
NEUROSURGEON.
NEUROSURGEON. >> WOW!
>> WOW! >> THAT’S MY BIGGEST DREAM EVER.
I PLAN TO GO TO THE UNIVERSITY
OF DELAWARE AND MY DREAM SCHOOL
IS JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY.
THAT’S MY GOAL.
BUT I WANT TO GAIN EXPOSURE FOR
YOUNG GIRLS, SPREAD OUTSIDE
WILMINGTON TO IMPACT MY ENTIRE
STATE OF DELAWARE AND EVENTUALLY
THE WHOLE COUNTRY.
THAT’S MY MEGA GOAL.
RIGHT NOW I WANT TO FOCUS ON MY
CITY AND LET EVERYBODY KNOW
WE’RE BETTER THAN THAT STIGMA
THAT’S BEEN PLACED UPON US, THAT
NEGLECT CONNOTATION AND WE’RE
BETTER THAN THAT AND WE’RE
TALKING ABOUT IT AND HOPEFULLY
IT WILL SPREAD TO MORE
COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
JACQUELINE, THANK YOU FOR YOUR
DEDICATION, OUR SPONSOR, SUBARU,
WANTS TO GIVE YOU THE TOOLS YOU
NEED TO KEEP INSPIRING THE NEXT
GENERATION.
GENERATION. >> YES.
>> YES. ARE YOU READY?
WE HAVE A LITTLE PRESENT FOR
YOU.
YOU. >> COUNT ON THREE, TWO, ONE.
READY?
READY? >> THREE, TWO, ONE!
>> TAKE IT ALL IN.
I KNOW IT’S A LOT TO LOOK AT.
WE ARE -- OR THEY, SUBARU, IS
GIVING YOU $10,000 WORTH OF
SUPPLIES, CHEMISTRY KITS THAT
ALL THE KIDS WILL BE ABLE TO DO
AND ALL SORTS OF STEM PRODUCTS
AND BOOKS.
AND BOOKS. EVERYTHING YOU COULD POSSIBLY
IMAGINE.
IMAGINE. >> CHROME BOOK.
>> CHROME BOOKS.
>> WHAT’S GOING THROUGH YOUR
MIND?
MIND? >> THANK YOU.
OH, MY GOD.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
YOU’VE GOT ME CRYING ON TV.
>> WHAT BRINGS YOU TO TEARS, THE
WORK YOU PUT INTO IT, THE KIDS
THAT THIS WILL HELP?
>> THE KIDS I KNOW THAT’S GOING
TO HELP.
TO HELP. I KNOW I’LL BE ABLE TO GIVE THIS
TO ALL THE KIDS AND THEY CAN
TAKE THIS HOME AND CONTINUE
GETTING THAT HANDS-ON STEM
EXPOSURE.
EXPOSURE. >> THEY’RE WATCHING RIGHT NOW.
I’M SURE THEY’RE EXCITED TO HAVE
YOU TEACH THEM HOW TO DO ALL OF
THIS.
THIS. >> I’M EXCITED.
>> THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU’RE