Daily Herald: Fremd student expands mission to encourage girls to pursue STEM careers
READ OUR DAILY HERLAD FEATURE AT https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20230130/fremd-student-expands-mission-to-encourage-girls-to-pursue-stem-careers.
By Madhu Krishnamurthy
Ruby Arun, a sophomore at William Fremd High School in Palatine, is expanding her mission to inspire girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math fields.
Ruby recently was recognized by the Palatine Township Elementary District 15 board after her organization, Mission: MathMinds, donated more than 2,000 books to district schools. Her donation, worth $20,000, was part of the district's STEM Awareness Campaign, which collected more than 15,000 books worth about $160,000.
This winter, Mission: MathMinds' team of mentors visited several elementary/middle schools and foster care programs within District 15 communities to spread awareness about STEM.
A first-generation Indian American, Ruby, 15, of Inverness, has a passion for mathematics and has been participating in school math teams since third grade. She started the nonprofit Mission: MathMinds to create more interest in math fields at a younger age, so more girls are keen to join STEM fields.
Last year, her nonprofit hosted numerous STEM awareness events for girls, including a national conference on female role models in STEM fields in Arlington Heights. Ruby has created a platform for female role models in STEM on her missionmathminds.org website, where videos of conversations with leaders are posted.
"Our national conference we are planning for March around spring break," Ruby said. "We (will) have around eight to 10 female leaders speaking about their experiences. Middle school and high school students is the audience we are targeting."
A virtual "Connecting the Dots in Medicine Workshop" will be held from 5 to 6 p.m. Feb. 6, featuring female leaders from Northwestern Medicine and the University of Michigan. Register at missionmathminds.org.
Fremd High School sophomore Ruby Arun, center, and her team of Mission: MathMinds mentors recently were recognized by the Palatine Township Elementary District 15 school board for donating more than 2,000 books to district schools. - Courtesy of Ruby Arun
Ruby's book drive also is ongoing. So far, her nonprofit has distributed more than 13,000 books to District 15, Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54, Chicago Public Schools, and to Ukrainian refugees in Poland, France and Italy. It will be hosting book drives in partnership with the Buehler YMCA in Palatine, the Foglia YMCA in Lake Zurich and the Alfred Campanelli YMCA in Schaumburg.
"Our goal for this year is 50,000 books," Ruby said.
