Han breaking barriers as woman in STEM

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Nyah Rama

Coppell High School sophomore Eunice Han looks to pursue a future in engineering. Despite her short time in the field, Han has seen the stereotypes women in STEM face and is learning how to combat them.

Nyah Rama, Staff Writer

A young girl sits in front of the television in her home. Cartoon-like characters in colorful costumes and talking animals dance across the screen telling stories and teaching a young child lessons about the world.  

Coppell High School sophomore Society of Women Engineers vice president Eunice Han has always been enamored with animation. From Disney to Pixar, Han is spellbound with the characters that define our childhoods.

Han’s interest in engineering is derived from her love of animation. Her decision to make a switch from Principles of Arts, A/V Tech and Communications to Engineering came after watching Disney’s Big Hero 6 which gave her the inspiration to learn how to help people in a similar way.

“I feel like animation inspired me to go into engineering at first,” said Han, who is also a member of Technology Student Association (TSA). “It’s the little things that you don’t realize that end up having a huge impact on you. I love to watch animation and watching Big Hero 6 inspired me because the characters created these robotic things to help others. While it’s very unrealistic, it inspired me to create things that are more realistic to help other people and our environment.”

Han became the vice president of the Society of Women Engineers CHS chapter this school year. Being part of a group that is only women has helped Han feel more comfortable in engineering as well as gain more opportunities.

Coppell High School sophomore Eunice Han looks to pursue a future in engineering. Despite her short time in the field, Han has seen the stereotypes women in STEM face and is learning how to combat them.

“I’ve always had an interest in engineering,” Han said. “I realized that there’s some differences between men and women in engineering, and STEM in general. I wanted to go into it, where it was just women in STEM and it made me feel more comfortable. I get more opportunities than whenever I’m in other STEM clubs.”

While engineering is new to Han, she’s fully dedicated and willing to give it her all.

“She’s really passionate about it,” sophomore Meher Talreja said. “She’s very determined to do well in STEM. She puts in the effort, even twice the amount if needed, to prove herself and to show that she does the best she can in whatever she’s working on.”

While it is her passion, Han has already noticed some of the more complicated aspects of a STEM career, witnessing and experiencing some of the imbalances within the field.

“I’m in robotics right now and being the only woman in an all male group feels strange to me,” Han said. “They give you microaggressions, they don’t really think that you’re fit for the job or [presume] that you’re stupid in my experience.”

Women in STEM have been working to combat the experiences Han describes for decades.

“I ignored it at first but I’m trying to stand up to them and tell them that what they think isn’t true,” Han said. “It’s not that big compared to the aggression that women face in jobs and careers but i think for now, as a high schooler, educating is the best thing to do.”

Han’s friends admire her ability to succeed in a male-dominated field both as a woman and a high school student.

“It’s great that she’s starting at a younger age,” sophomore Sabah Uddin said. “She’s contributing to the female youth in STEM and moreover as a person of color in STEM because it’s a very male dominated field. She helps a lot with the diversity of the future workforce.”

Coppell High School sophomore Eunice Han looks to pursue a future in engineering. Despite her short time in the field, Han has seen the stereotypes women in STEM face and is learning how to combat them. Han is currently working on her robot called Vex.

TSA sponsor Michael Yakubovsky admires the work Han has put in and sees her advancement in STEM.

“She does a great job and really works hard at it,” Yakubovsky said. “She’s a great representation of women and why we need to make sure we include all people. It is not that some people can do STEM and some can’t; Everybody can and she brings a great viewpoint and is just as qualified as anybody else.”

Han hopes to see a shift for women in STEM and more specifically engineering.

“I would really like to see more representation,” Han said. “While there is more representation of women now than there was a few years ago, there still is not a lot. I want to be able to see them succeeding more and also see people stop doubting women’s abilities. I want to see more progression overall.”

Engineering, while proving to be challenging at times, offers many opportunities, and Han is looking to see which path is perfect for her.

“I’d like to continue studying engineering in college, but after that I don’t really know what I want to do,” Han said. “I feel like there’s so much we can do with it but I just haven’t figured it out yet.”

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