TIS Students Abby & Maggie’s Interest in Robotics Leads Push for Girl Participation in STEM

February 3, 2023
TIS Students Abby & Maggie’s Interest in Robotics Leads Push for Girl Participation in STEM

Tomball Intermediate School sixth graders Abby and Maggie share a passion for robotics and STEM. As the only two girl team members on the TIS Robotics Team, both Abby and Maggie help lead TIS in its quest to encourage more girls to become involved in STEM-related activities and advanced courses on campus. 

From an early age, both Abby and Maggie showed interest in STEM and remember building robots with LEGOS and coding them back in the second grade. 

“Building those robots with LEGOS was really fun, so in the third grade, we had the opportunity to join the Robotics Club at our elementary schools,” they said.

For Abby, specifically, she gained knowledge in STEM through her dad.

“I have always thought robots were cool, and my dad has a background in STEM. He does a lot of coding,” she said.

The TIS Robotics Team is led by coaches Mr. Sebastian, Mr. Silva, and Ms. Zarosky. These teachers lead a team of students through the challenges of coding, building, innovation, and lastly, competition.

Abby and Maggie may be the only two girls on the team, but they play an integral role in the success of TIS Robotics.

Since joining the team, these two students have continued to learn more, have been challenged, and are building confidence through competition. 

“I have learned to code and build better since joining this team,” Abby said. “We have learned how to do research, and we have learned more about STEM from experts in the field.”

For Maggie, “we have learned a lot about different types of energy, like renewable energy.”

STEM has a variety of avenues for students to pursue and along with robotics, both Abby and Maggie, have other interests in the STEM field.

“I am more interested in the math part of STEM, like IT,” said Abby. “My mom works in the IT field.”

“I am more interested in the Science part of STEM, specifically engineering,” said Maggie.

While they continue to learn and compete with a Robotics team of mostly boys, both Abby and Maggie are doing their best to encourage other girls to join STEM and are excited to continue their love of robotics at the junior high and high school level. 

“I also have a lot of confidence, and I like showing other girls that it is okay to do something mostly boys do,” Abby said.

As the STEM field continues to grow, Tomball Intermediate School has made an intentional effort to encourage participation from all students who show any interest in the areas of learning.

Some of the ways in which Tomball Intermediate School is prompting STEM and participation for girls are by featuring different career fields every Wednesday, some of which are STEM related. The campus also held parent nights to discuss girls taking advanced courses. And through the library Makerspace area, STEM activities are available for students to participate in throughout the day.