Emmeline is a third-year student studying MEng Materials Science and Engineering in the Department of Materials. 

Why did you choose to study your programme?

I first heard about Materials Science and Engineering at a university open day. I was going around the engineering department when I saw it on the list of talks for the day and not knowing what it was at all, I decided to go along to the talk to find out. I thought the subject sounded so interesting and something that I would definitely want to do, as I had interests in Chemistry, Physics and Maths and wanted to do a subject which allowed me to use them all equally; so Materials Science and Engineering really was the perfect match. I first heard about Imperial when I was then researching places that offered a Materials Science and Engineering course; it isn’t a subject that is offered everywhere and so Imperial was almost immediately one of my options. As I did more research though, I realised how amazing Imperial was and felt overwhelmed with the feeling that I would just never be good enough to get in. Then came my first real experience of Imperial; I came for a Materials and Physics Sutton Trust Summer school in 2016. It was so much fun, I learnt a lot and made some real friends for life. Overall, the fact that I had such a great experience with my time at Imperial, the fact that they have such an amazing reputation, and that the facilities in the Materials department are second to none meant that Imperial was the university I really wanted to go to; and here I am.

 Do you have any advice to women considering a STEM Undergraduate degree?

“Do it!” If you are really interested in any STEM subject, and you want to go into further education then do it. Don’t listen if people are trying to put you down or tell you it’s a “man’s subject”, they’re wrong. STEM is for everyone, and as long as you are passionate for it then that is all that matters. Even if you might not think you are good enough and that you’re not going to get onto a course, you should still go for it, because if you don’t apply at all then you’re not going to get on either; and the ones who always think they’re not good enough usually are the one’s who are, believe me.

Is there a particular female who inspires you?

It sounds cliché but I would have to say without a doubt, my mum. She has had a lot of family responsibilities throughout her life, some of which resulted in her never going to university herself even though she wanted to. But she has a really successful career now regardless of that, and she has always supported me no matter what I wanted to do, whether I wanted to leave school at 16 and do an apprenticeship, leave at 18 and work, or go to university; as long as I was doing something that made me happy, she was supportive of it. She has always made time for me; helped me with my schoolwork, university applications and internship applications etc., and pushed me to be the best version of myself whilst still excelling in her own career, and for that she inspires me every day.

 What change would you like to see for young girls in the next generation?

I would like to see fewer stereotypes; and that goes for everything, not just STEM. The media pushes a certain rhetoric every day on what girls should be and do to be considered “perfect” and it really bothers me. This includes but is most definitely not limited to beauty standards; what subjects women should study; what jobs they should be doing; how they should act; what they should wear etc. The vast majority of women are put down in some way on a daily basis, and it is even worse when it is other women putting women down. The change I want to see is probably too huge to occur in the space of just one generation, but it has already begun a little bit. I want every single person who identifies as a woman to be able to look how they want and do what they want and to be supported by others in this without fear of ridicule or judgement. I want this because so many young girls have confidence issues usually related to any or all of these things; and sometimes it stops them from pursuing things they want to, including the study of STEM and STEM careers, and I don’t think that’s fair. I want a change so that young girls to know they can grow up to be whoever and whatever they want to be.