My name is Sophie Hernandez, a senior at Holy Names High school. Around 8th grade, I knew I wanted to pursue an engineering career in the future. However, I never truly felt supported in my middle school due to me being a girl. That did not stop my passion and drive to pursue this career. I did not know it yet, but the support that I have been looking for was just around the corner. Or, to be more specific, my high school’s all-girls robotics team.
During my freshman year, I joined my school’s robotics team and fell in love with robotics. I enjoyed the process of designing, building, coding, and controlling the robot. That year my team was invited for the first time to a Girl Powered VEX Robotics workshop at Google. Going into the workshop, I was afraid that I would embarrass myself since I was just a beginner. I met amazing coaches and mentors that helped guide me throughout the workshop and gave me incredible advice that has helped me throughout my journey with robotics.
This workshop not only helped build my skills in robotics but allowed me to meet other girls just like me who are wanting to pursue a STEM career. I was lucky to go again in my sophomore year. The GirlPowered program truly revealed to me that even though I am a girl, that should not limit me in my potential in pursuing an engineering career. Thanks to the GirlPowered program, I am excited to pursue Biomedical Engineering and Robotics in the future.
