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"I like to tell young women that you will be good at anything you enjoy, but you sometimes have to try a lot of things to learn what you enjoy! So, it is very important to get yourself out there and learn what interests you. In addition to taking a variety of classes in school, try to seek out and participate in some of the many wonderful STEM events and programs offered around the country that are specifically designed to excite and motivate young women. You never know until you try!"

"Nuclear power has been a workhorse of the electric power industry for 50 years and is a key element in supplying the world’s future electricity needs, so having the opportunity to work at Argonne, as part of a strong team of nuclear engineering researchers, on development and deployment of advanced nuclear reactor designs lets me contribute to the well-being of future generations while addressing technically interesting and challenging issues."

"Very few people can say that their work may help to ‘save the world’ one day. Renewable energy may do just that, providing the world with a sustainable future and helping to mitigate the anthropogenic impact on the Earth. I think that’s pretty cool."

"Changing the perception of what an engineer or scientist looks like is an important step toward making STEM education widespread for girls. We need to highlight role models for underrepresented groups and show the fun, interesting work that they do. Hearing how role models achieved success has always been an inspiration for me."

"What excites me most about my work is that there is always an opportunity to learn new things. Computing is such a dynamic field that affects all aspects of science, and I have the opportunity to learn a little bit about science domains while contributing to solving the enormous computing challenges. There is always another challenge just around the corner."

"Tomorrow’s research problems require multi-disciplinary teams to tackle them, and, thus, you benefit from collaborating with scientists with skills and interests that complement your own. Don’t limit yourself to seeking connections with people that you work directly with, but engage in discussions with scientists from other groups or institutions."

"I would encourage people to be a jack-of-all-trades and master of none. If you only study one discipline, especially in biology, you will lack the vision to relate across the science domains. Big data and biotechnology are growing so much that multidisciplinary training is a must."

"Throughout my childhood, my parents never implied to me that as a girl, I could not achieve something I wanted. Engineering was an easy choice for me. I never had a second thought. Truly, it never occurred to me to do anything else!"

"A problem solver by nature, I discovered that a science and engineering background opened the door to addressing a wide variety of technical and societal challenges. In today’s environment, that basic STEM understanding is more important than ever, for a whole variety of fields."

"It is so important to follow your heart and your brain. Don’t be afraid if you think something is hard, like math. Try and take it one step at a time so you’re not overwhelmed. If you’ve ever looked up at the sky and wondered why it’s blue, why the grass is green, then you are well on your way!"

"Be flexible, take on challenges, listen, stay open-minded, ask questions, and never pass up the opportunity to learn something new. Follow your interests and learn from your mistakes. Effective communication is essential in a STEM career so don’t overlook taking writing and speech classes."

"When taking a required science class at the university, I heard the words “mathematical ecology” and became entranced. I walked out of that classroom and asked a math professor what this field was. That question resulted in me being the only student in a class called “mathematical ecology.” Using mathematical tools to understand ecological relationships was immediately appealing and eventually became the focus of my career."

"Take the harder classes, and think of them as problem solving. Don't expect to be great, expect to work hard and enjoy the learning process. I would encourage young women to take a programming course at Udacity or others and learn about how to structure problem solving."

"A lot of women, girls, and other underrepresented groups do not understand what STEM entails. STEM is all around you from the food you eat (food scientists) to the roads you drive on (civil engineers). Also, engagement will help them to understand that STEM is not some abstract field that only 'other' people work in. The STEM field includes women and people from diverse backgrounds and only benefits from adding different perspectives."

"I developed a keen interest in understanding nature and how the scientific method worked when I was in high school. I particularly enjoyed physics and math, and liked the challenge of solving complex scientific problems with simple solutions. Unraveling how nature works and knowing that by doing so, we also can discover some solutions to overcoming technological challenges and societal problems are what inspired me to work in STEM."

"Mentoring is important. I volunteer in several capacities to help underrepresented high school students conduct environmental science projects through a program called EnvironMentors... In my own career, I had several science teachers encourage me in very helpful ways. It can be very empowering to learn from someone else in a nurturing setting, where it is okay to ask questions and observe new things." Read more from Meredydd on her profile here.

"Making careers more exciting and reachable for girls is something that we can all be doing through humanizing these careers. Anyone can enter STEM fields, not only Nobel laureates. By teaching STEM in high school, we can expose students to that fact, and get students face time with people in the field, working internships, and learning more about these fields."

"I enjoy being challenged every day and working in STEM means there is always a new issue or problem to solve and I always feel satisfied that my work is helping to understand the world around us. Science is an area where I truly feel proud about the work I do every day."

"Be flexible. Research is never a direct line from A to B. Get the broadest undergraduate experience you can, as you will be very focused on a particular problem in your research career."

"I did not know what it was like to be a scientist, but, somehow from the bottom of my heart, I was always interested in science. I just was not sure I was good enough for it. To my great surprise, when I started my Ph.D. studies, I discovered scientists, although very smart, were just normal people." Read more from Julia on her profile here.

"It is essential to have an open mind and think independently. Find problems that interest you and that you feel you have the potential to make a unique and independent contribution." Read more from Alla on her profile here.

"Remember when you were a child, and could ask all those really fundamental questions: Why is the sky blue? Where do clouds come from? Why does grass turn green in the spring? Being a scientist is like being a child for life. I get to ask fundamental questions every day, and I get to prod and probe and play in the lab until I get the answers." Read more from Karin on her profile here.

"The U.S. needs to grow its technical workforce - including engineers - and women represent an untapped resource that can help the U.S. remain competitive. I believe these types of programs provide an opportunity for girls to learn about engineering first-hand from women engineers that can provide positive role models. If even a fraction of these girls choose engineering careers we are impacting the future." Read more from Kirsten on her profile here.

"I caught the bug to want to know more than what was presented in textbooks. I wanted to be part of the quest to unravel the mysteries of the universe, which meant following the arduous path of physics. It was…and still is such a challenge working in STEM, but, it’s never boring. I get to question our basic understanding of the world where the answers are not in the back of the book." Read more from Hai Ah on her profile here.

"It really begins at the middle school age. Both inside the classroom and out, we need to expose children to all kinds of career possibilities and encourage them to work hard (and ask for help when needed) in their classes. Classrooms need to do less testing so they have more time to educate and inspire." Read more from Maria on her profile here.