May 1, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 71 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H3348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    PAVING THE WAY FOR WOMEN IN STEM

  (Ms. UNDERWOOD asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, science, technology, engineering, and 
mathematics, or STEM, is an industry comprised of physicists, chemical 
and biomedical engineers, and professionals creating and developing 
innovative technologies.
  Demand for workers in these fields is high, but women remain 
underrepresented, especially in engineering and computer sciences. 
According to a study by the National Girls Collaborative, women make up 
nearly 50 percent of the overall workforce but less than 30 percent of 
careers in STEM.
  Women have made tremendous strides in this field over the last few 
decades, but women's underrepresentation in STEM limits discoveries and 
holds back our economy. Today I want to tell Members about an 
outstanding woman in my district who is paving the way for women in 
STEM.
  Aria Soha from Batavia, Illinois, works as the installation 
coordinator for the Short-Baseline Neutrino Program at Fermi National 
Laboratory. Aria was an outstanding student in math throughout school 
and chose to major in physics her second year of college at Carnegie 
Mellon University.
  In college, Aria worked relentlessly to find research opportunities 
and got the chance to build microwave telescopes, tools to examine 
high-energy radio waves that are hard to observe from the ground. After 
graduating, Aria accepted a job at Fermi Lab, a world-class research 
facility we are proud of in the 14th District.
  There are so many hidden figures in STEM, and I am proud to shine a 
bright light on the strong, smart women in the 14th District leading 
and making a difference in our community.

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