Jahnavi’s Story
Jahnavi, based in England, has written several articles for Youth STEM Matters, and was a Speaker at the 2021 Youth STEM Summit. In her own words, this is her story.
My Experience as Part of the Youth STEM 2030 Community
My name is Jahnavi Giridhar, my pronouns are she/her, and I’m a student from London, England. I am a Youth STEM Matters Author and 2021 Youth STEM Summit Speaker. Being part of this community has been nothing short of amazing, and I want to share my experiences with all of you, in celebration of Youth STEM 2030’s 2nd birthday!
I am an absolute STEM enthusiast and also love writing articles. I’ve been a part of the Youth STEM 2030 community since late 2020, when I submitted my first ever article proposal to the journal, Youth STEM Matters. I have since spoken at the Youth STEM Summit, and am now in the process of writing my 3rd article, which I am very excited for when it gets published.
I discovered Youth STEM 2030 after my friend showed me this website which, as she said, ‘seemed really cool’. When I first saw it, I thought the website looked really neat, but left it at that. Then one day, around a month later, I just remembered, out of nowhere, her showing me this website, and did some research on what it was. I realised I’d found an organisation whose mission I loved and I saw that it gave young people, like me, a place to share our voice with the world. That organisation was Youth STEM 2030.
When I saw that you can submit an article to be published, I was buzzing with excitement. Until I found Youth STEM 2030, I never had a platform to share my voice as a young person, because 90% of the time, we’re not taken seriously, and are told that we are ‘too young’ to understand the world and its problems. But seeing that opportunity made me realise that I could finally speak up about what I think about the world, without being judged. I immediately started brainstorming article ideas, because I definitely didn’t want to pass this opportunity up. And soon…I got it; the perfect idea. I submitted my article idea as fast as I could, so that I wouldn’t lose my train of thought and hit ‘submit’. That moment was the spark for my first ever article, which was published in May 2021.
My first article was on a subject that I am very passionate about, which is the fight against the menstruation stigma, and it was called 'The Science of The Sanitary Pad'. I detailed how the menstrual cycle works, how sanitary pads work and why breaking the menstruation stigma is important in our society.
Writing my first article was a slightly nerve-wracking experience, because I had never done anything like this before, but my assigned editors were there for every step of the way, as I asked them so many questions about article writing; they were so helpful and kind, and that made the whole process a lot easier. In particular, thanks so much Éimear! You were an amazing editor, and gave so many points on how to make my article the best it could be.
Then, I wanted to raise my voice about another issue I care about. In my second article, I interviewed a local GP healthcare surgery in the UK on how COVID-19 has impacted them personally and the surgery overall. Writing my second article was a lot easier, because I understood a lot more about how article-writing worked. My 2nd article was in a different style, as it was an interview, but my editors gave a lot of good interview tips, and ideas for explaining how the complicated National Health Service (NHS) health system works. Thanks so much Kavya, and Éimear once again!
It was an extremely good experience to ask about how the primary care sector in the UK NHS had been affected by the ongoing pandemic, especially during the infection peaks here in the UK. The stories of primary care workers were not as highlighted in the media, so I felt it was time to raise my voice and talk about it myself.
Towards the end of last year, I was also a speaker on Day 1 of the 2021 Youth STEM Summit and it was a really cool experience! The Summit is an amazing place to speak about a topic that means a lot to you. I enjoyed speaking at the Youth STEM Summit a lot, and it’s a great place to start if you want to share your voice! Before speaking at the Summit, I did have previous experience in public speaking, but definitely not to such a big audience, so when I saw that there was a platform to share my voice on a topic that means so much to me, it made me so excited! I filled out the speaker form, and soon got a response that my talk proposal was accepted! I soon worked on my talk, and talked a lot with the Summit Design Team, on what they wanted in a talk. They gave me a lot of freedom on what I could talk about, and that made writing my talk a lot more fun!
The Summit is an amazing place to speak about a topic that means a lot to you. I enjoyed speaking at the Youth STEM Summit a lot, and it’s a great place to start if you want to share your voice! I spoke about the stigma surrounding menstruation and why it can be harmful, because, as detailed before, I am a big advocate against the menstruation stigma. It can be extremely detrimental to our society and all the menstruators that are a part of it. This stigma also poses a large obstacle in the way of fighting many large problems in our world, like plastic pollution, womens’ rights and equal access to healthcare.
Growing My Skills With Youth STEM 2030
Writing articles has really helped me with my writing communication skills. As an author, It’s my task to take all the relevant information and research on a topic, and condense it into something that would interest the reader. By writing articles, I’ve helped develop that skill, which has also helped prevent me rambling a lot in my writing, even outside of articles. As a student, I write down a lot of notes, which I feel I’ve gotten better at doing. It also has helped me keep focus on what I’m writing in my exams as well, because time is precious in those situations!
My organisational skills have also improved quite a lot since I started writing articles, because having deadlines to meet when writing my drafts for the editors meant that any delay would cause the publication date to get pushed back, so it helped me organise my tasks for the week in a good order to prevent this, which has also definitely benefited me outside of Youth STEM 2030.
“Being a speaker at the Youth STEM Summit really helped with my public speaking skills as well, because while I had previous experience in public speaking, I never spoke in front of such a large audience.”
Being a speaker at the Youth STEM Summit really helped with my public speaking skills as well, because while I had previous experience in public speaking, I never spoke in front of such a large audience. This event definitely made me more confident about speaking in public, especially on topics that are often seen as taboo and stigmatised.
My Favourite Times as a Part of the Youth STEM 2030 Community
After being part of Youth STEM 2030 for almost 2 years, I’ve had a lot of really cool experiences here. Here’s some of my favourites!
When my article proposal was accepted, I was so excited and motivated to make my first ever article into the best it could be.
When my article got published, It just made me so happy to see my hard work and research make it into Youth STEM Matters for so many people to see and appreciate.
When I won the Speak Up Award for my first article at the Youth STEM Matters Author Awards. Getting so much appreciation from it really gave me so much confidence in my writing!
When my Speaker application was accepted for the 2021 Youth STEM Summit. It made me feel so proud that I could talk about a topic that I am really passionate about and that needs action in our world: the breaking of the period stigma.
The responses I got after my talk, showing me there are other people who want to break that stigma too and make periods no longer taboo!
When Mhairi asked me to share my story of being part of Youth STEM 2030, to celebrate their 2nd birthday. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as I’ve never done anything like this before, and I’ve loved every second of it. (Thanks so much Mhairi!)
My Advice for People Who Want to Join the Community
Since being part of this amazing community for nearly 2 years, I have a few top tips for anyone wanting to get involved.
Plan your articles before submitting them. Even if it’s just a few notes, it’ll give the Sci Comm team a much better idea of what your article is about!
Regularly check the website for any new updates and news (I’ve nearly missed the deadline on a few applications!)
Sign up to the newsletter! It shows you a lot of really cool opportunities and ideas for activities, and also updates you on what’s happening in the community, delivered right to your inbox. You can sign up for it here! Sign Up for Youth STEM 2030’s Newsletter.
Try to sign up for as many opportunities as you can, if they fit your schedule and lifestyle! Although the work for articles and events is self-directed, you get lots of help throughout the process, and can always contact the team if you need any help with any tasks.
I hope you've enjoyed reading my experience as part of the amazing Youth STEM 2030 community, and I'm excited to see how this organisation will expand over the next few years! My experiences have been nothing but amazing with this team and I hope to see more of you join us on this amazing mission to empower YOUth. This is a place where young people can share their voice, without being judged on our age.
“My experiences have been nothing but amazing with this team and I hope to see more of you join us on this amazing mission to empower YOUth.”