2015 Hiba Najjar

Mentor Company - Amec Foster Wheeler

Operation Minervertuous Experience

Just the fact that there is an Operation Minerva proves that, yes, women are generally found in much less numbers compared to men when looking at the math and science career fields. Operation Minerva is a female empowerment experience - but why would we need one if the genders were both treated equally?

My day with Operation Minerva enlightened me to all of the possibilities there are out there. I met great people, learned new things, and ate great food (best lemon poppy seed cookies ever). But, most of all, the experience made me overwhelmingly grateful to live in a place that supports such things. In Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan, women are so oppressed that in Iraq, millions can’t earn money to eat, in Saudi Arabia, women can’t drive, and in Afghanistan, 87% admit to experiencing domestic violence. Canada is a great place to be a women and Operation Minerva makes that even better.

The sadly only daylong event started with me waiting outside of a Co-op to be picked up. Eventually, as the minutes went on, more and more girls showed up, and the volunteers started handing out some very nice goodie-bags. Mine included a lot of pens, notepads, a Canadian flag and pin, science and math posters which are now hanging on my bedroom wall, and other cool little gadgets.

After boarding the bus, we were all chipper and ready to go. The bus drove just about to the end of the parking lot when all of the sudden, it stopped. Our bus got stuck on the parking lot exit ramp. So, we chatted and waited for the bus to get going again, but it seemed like that sucker was really stuck, so we all had to get off.

It was a good thing to have a friend I knew to chat with because then all of the girls had to wait on a patch of grass for about 15-20 minutes for the next bus to arrive, because that stuck bus was going nowhere. I still wonder how they got it out of there. Eventually, even after being something like 45 minutes late, I arrived at my destination; Amec. The Amec building was beautiful in a beautiful area, with fountains, flowering trees, paved sidewalks, and benches to rest on. It was a very professional looking place.

Entering the building, a kind woman named Ruth with funky red hair greeted myself and, if I remember correctly, seven other girls. She led us through what reminded me of a maze to another room where there were about nine female mentors.

First, to get to know one another, we all played a game of would you rather. This let us get to know what we had in common with each other and established a friendly common ground. Then, being very organized, the girls were divided into groups of two or three and alternated around four different learning stations, all relevant to what Amec did in some way.

The first station I went to was for testing water for its temperature, oxygen level, acidity, smell, and look. This was my favorite station because of the mentors that were there and what we were doing. It helped a lot that I went on a river watch field trip the same year testing for those qualities in the Bow River, and I think I might’ve impressed the mentors a little by using the word “oxygenation”.

The second station I went to was for putting two different types of bridges (suspension and beam) to the test, testing which one could hold the heavier weight. Although the suspension bridge won, both could hold all of the coins we were using as weights, but after two minutes the beam bridge gave in. It was captivating waiting for either to give.

The third station I went to was for creating your own body sugar scrub. The scrubs consisted of sugar or salt, vegetable oil, and scents of your choosing. It was very easy to make; ⅓ cup of oil, 1 cup of sugar, and a teaspoon or more of liquid scents. I used a scent combination of maple and almond. I’d never smelled almond extract before, and I must say, it was the best day of my life. The scrubs, in the end, resembled what the oil sands were and felt like; mostly sand and oil in between. I’m guessing the oil sands don’t smell as good, though.

The fourth station I went to was the most fun, and the mentor at the station, Courtney, was nice to talk to. There I competed with every other girl there to see who could blow a marshmallow out of a tube the farthest. It sounds very simple, but technique was definitely involved. You had to know where to position the marshmallow in the tube, the degree you had to angle it, and how hard to blow. Measuring the acceleration and distance was how we found out who had won. I came in second place with a distance of around 13-14 feet.

All of the ladies at Operation Minerva I met were wonderful and very inspiring. They all seemed very happy to be at the jobs they had and that got me anticipating my own career. Right now, I’m considering becoming a transplant or orthopedic surgeon, but what I want wavers around a lot. Only a couple months ago I wanted to major in psychology.

I understand that many religions and traditions push women to be a housewife all of their lives, but I disagree. It’s fine if anyone wants to be a housewife, but I don’t think they should let religion or tradition influence that big decision. Even here in North America there are lots of aspects keeping women from pursuing a STEM career, like:

1. Teasing in school or at home. Stereotypes play a big role in this, like saying a girl is too pretty to work in the oil fields or rather should be working with oil in a kitchen. 2. Childcare. Caring for a child can definitely change the course of a young woman’s life forever. In places like Afghanistan, 50% of all brides are under the age of 16. Girls that young can barely consider a STEM career before being swept away unwillingly into a life they never imagined. 3. Encouragement or lack thereof. Even in this day and age, there seems to be some sort of internal bias in people’s minds, even women’s, toward men. 4. Earnings bias. Studies and research show that men make more than women, get more office space, and are given more resources. Women software developers earn 80% the amount men do.

It’s a horrible thing to know that gender inequality still exists, especially knowing the year we are in. This shouldn’t still be like this. It should never have in the first place, but it’s great seeing all of the awareness programs and campaigns there are now, just like Operation Minerva. It is a great program with much to learn and do, and I highly recommend it to future participators.

Personally, I’ve never sought an interest in something outside of the science career field, and Operation Minerva only increased and solidified my interests. There are so many options and so much to learn, and I look forward to perhaps someday become a mentor that future girls like me will be inspired by.

Thank you for the sublime experience, Operation Minerva and Amec! I’m sure I will always remember it.