By Lorenzo Salinas

l.v.salinas@panews.com

 

Several young women received the opportunity to learn about science, technology, engineering and mathematics Thursday from field experts in a fun and relevant environment.

For International Women’s Day, Veolia Environmental Services hosted some lucky Port Arthur ISD students at its facility in Port Arthur. The event featured a tour of the facility, an interview with different departments and the opportunity to speak with female employees about their careers in STEM.

“Today is International Women’s Day. Veolia in Paris put out an initiative worldwide to (its locations) to raise awareness for women in STEM careers,” Chelsea Graves, approvals and receiving supervisor, said.

Veolia is an environmental services company that specializes in the management and operations of water, energy and waste. Graves graduated with a degree in biology.

“It’s important to keep your goals in sight… to pursue your dreams,” Graves said. “I’ve just always been science-minded. I enjoy learning how things work and why.”

According to a U.S. Department of Commerce study done by the Economics and Statistics Administration, women make up only 24 percent of the STEM work force even though they make up almost half of the U.S. population.

“We really need to encourage girls to pursue opportunities and degrees in technical fields,” Terry Melancon, technical services manager for the Gulf Coast branch, said.

“If we don’t encourage girls to look into these kinds of jobs, we would be losing a lot of talent.”

Melancon earned a bachelor’s of science in microbiology. Like Graves, she was fascinated with how things work.

“I started out in biology. I always had a great curiosity for how life works,” Melancon said.

She attributed her interest in the subject as being cultivated by a favorite biology teacher in school. She stressed the importance of encouragement at a young age for science and math; the event at Veolia was meant to encourage such interest.

“Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid to learn. Girls aren’t always encouraged in science and math like the boys are,” Melancon said. “Find out what encourages you and don’t be afraid to pursue it.”

Melancon highlighted the importance of STEM careers in companies like Veolia where public health and environmental welfare are top priorities.

“It’s entirely applicable,” Melancon said of STEM. “It’s health and hazard. It’s the way chemicals and waste could affect people. It’s how waste affects the environment.”

Veolia is the largest environmental operation in the world, with a staff of more than 163,000 employees worldwide. In 2016, Veolia converted 30 million metric tons of waste into new materials and energy.

Accordingly, Melancon assured any future candidates that careers in STEM fields — accountants, engineers, lab technicians — are related to success in the company and also, success in a broader sense.

“Diversity is key to be able to advance,” she said.

Senior staff accountant Terrie Celestine acknowledged subjects like mathematics could be challenging for some; but, with enough focus and determination, one could succeed.

“I think (math) is very important for everything. In what’s typically a male-dominated field, you’ll find that females are just as competent — if not more competent — than males,” Celestine said.

If the speakers’ excitement about their careers in STEM were any indication, it would seem like that excitement was contagious for the Port Arthur students as well.

“It feels pretty great to be in the program. Not everyone gets the opportunity,” Juana Solomon, a junior at Memorial High School, said.

Solomon was one of the students nominated by her teachers in the Career and Technology Center building to participate in the Veolia event.

With an enthusiastic response, Solomon named the sciences as her favorite subjects in school. She said she would like to pursue a career as a radiologist after graduating.

“Today I hope to learn about new occupations in my field and to get to try to learn about them,” Solomon said.