Kerstern Malama

I spent the early parts of my life growing up in Africa residing in a small town in Zambia called Kapiri Mposhi. Here, I would spend my days with my siblings and more notably my late older brother, Engelbert. We would always play games with dolls and cars, but we had a unique twist that arguably most kids might not do today. We would build our cars. After a rainy day, we would go to termite made clay hills, not too far from my home, to collect soft, creamy clay that had been produced from the bad weather. We would then mold these imaginary cars, strange equipment and houses. We also used the clay to build small wheelbarrows, shovels and even make mock kitchen utensils; at the time our imagination was unlimited. If it hadn't rained that day and we couldn't find the soft clay from the nearby hills, we would then venture to our mum’s closet to get some of her hang wires to mold them into the chassis of the car and main body of the car. We used to call the chassis “Mudguard”. My Mudguards were so perfect such that my brother asked me to make more as a base for building our cars

I was fascinated at how my brother was able to smooth out the clay so nicely with no cracks and that’s why he always suggested getting the clay once it was wet. But being in a country that’s notoriously known for it's hot, golden rays and not rainy weather, my brother and I could not always access the clay. So, our last resort was mum’s closet again but of course she could always tell by her newly stained hang wires when she saw our molded wire gadgets.  We always got a good beating for taking her hang wires. As to why we thought she would not notice is beyond me. To be fair, looking back, we did use her good hang wires and stained them. Sorry mum! 

Little did she know, I was a mini engineer in the making.  

Looking back to high school, I loved it. I would wake up eager and excited because the idea of new books, new stationary and freshly pressed uniform always had me motivated for school. One thing that I remember from my school days was how much I loved Math and Science. From formulas and equations to learning about the inner workings of the universe, I knew I was good at these subjects and having an interest, and good teachers, boosted my curiosity to further learn about them. As the years went by, I graduated and enrolled at Evelyn Hone College (in Lusaka, Zambia) to study Production Management where I was 1 out of 4 girls out of 30 students. The ratio of 1 woman: 8 men bothered me as I wondered why there were so few girls. To add salt to the injury, the men in the classes kept questioning why I chose the career. Luckily, I knew to back myself and trust in my skills. That inner support led me to complete my course and work two years as a Quality Supervisor in a tap wood manufacturing company called Tap Building products in Chilanga, a town a bit away from Lusaka. I then worked briefly in South Africa as a quality controller in the leather industry for 3 years before deciding to move to the United States. 

New land, new plans. 

I started a new chapter of my life in California working for a few years, before enrolling at California State University.

I stepped into the lecture room, and it seemed to mimic the scene of when I was at college. Few women and the majority men. I gazed through the room looking for someone who looked like me. I could only see two girls seated sparingly from each other.They were seated so far apart. I started thinking of how someone coming after me would feel, if they didn’t see any students who looked like themselves trying to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). I realized the girls would quit, and I became very worried and decided to do something about it. Enrolling at California State University inspired me more than I realized. During my time at university, I began thinking of ways to encourage women, mainly young girls, to pursue STEM.

When I graduated with my BA in Manufacturing Systems Engineering, I worked hard for two years before finally making my mind up on what to do about encouraging girls in STEM I decided to create a non-profit organization Girls for STEM USA, formatted as ‘GIRLSFORSTEMUSA INC’.

I knew that by using my talent, my education, and personal experiences, I could inspire young girls and women, highlighting them to the advantages of pursuing a career in this industry. 

Encouraging girls and women to aim higher

I noticed that the more I put my time into this organization, I realized not so many people were well informed of the prospects of STEM. For most people the knowledge of these opportunities come from networking or school. But what about the people who don’t have access to these resources? Mothers, guardians out there

I have encountered parents/guardians of children who aren’t aware of STEM or learn too late e.g., high school and that has made me realize how important it is to expose the advancing world of tech to young individuals and their parents as soon as possible, through accessible materials and articles. My organization tries to include the industry and the parents/guardians of young children. I believe Mothers have a greater impact in encouraging girls to pursue STEM.

Acknowledge other scientists who have navigated STEM

“STEM HANG-OUT”

I find it very important to also showcase the smart and wonderful women who have navigated the male dominated world of STEM as it can help young girls and women to see similar faces and doing jobs that they never thought they could do. It can help to change the perception that they have. 

My journey started small and led me on to my wildest dreams. I actively want to make sure that other young girls, who are also building and creating things, can realize that they too are probably mini scientists, mathematicians, or engineers in the making.

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