Intern Feature: Samantha Lambdin
In the past two months, our Summer Program Associates have been working hard to run the Girls Code the World summer programs smoothly and successfully. As one of the amazing Program Associates, Samantha Lambdin ran a week of program for about 17 kids with her co-counselor, running pre-planned lessons and experimenting with new lesson plans.
Samantha is a rising junior at the Pennington School in New Jersey. She is an active member of the school’s Art Club, Intersectional Feminism Club, and Student Government. She also plays field hockey and participates in tech crew and the spring play. As involved as she is in the arts and sports, she is also a leader who is passionate about STEM, which is why she chose to join Girls Code the World. “I wanted to explore STEM more and I thought it would be a really amazing opportunity to show younger kids like me the possibilities that the STEM field has to offer.”
The biggest thing Samantha learned throughout her GCTW experience was to be flexible. Doing messy experiments under a time crunch in a small classroom can be difficult, but she learned to expect the unexpected. “Things often changed but it was about problem solving and engineering a solution,” Samantha said. This also became her favorite part about being a Program Associate–––working with the younger girls and seeing them change the lessons. “We often had an idea of how the day would go but it would often change into something new because the kids took lead on what they were interested in doing.”
“GCTW is important because it is opening up more opportunities for girls both young and older. For young girls it is allowing them to experiment and explore STEM in a safe and supportive environment. For older girls like me, it is providing a leadership opportunity to teach valuable skills that can help prepare for college and a number of careers.”
~Samantha on why she thinks Girls Code the World is important
Samantha believes that STEM can be taken into many directions and is not limited to engineering and technology. “People think of STEM and their thoughts are limited to engineering, doctors, and chemistry. But it doesn’t always need to be so strict. There are endless options and opportunities that should be explored,” she said, “for me, I love to bake. This might not sound like a STEM activity. And it doesn’t have to be if you don’t want it to. But chemistry is a huge part of baking. I am able to think about each ingredient and its chemical properties and how it affects a recipe and experiment as such. I am able to test and tweak using basic chemistry. This is true of many things. Art includes many aspects of problem solving and engineering. Even humanities can include STEM. STEM is everywhere which is why I love it so much and why I think everyone else should as well.”
A thoughtful and determined young woman, Samantha said that she was greatly inspired by her grandma. “Although she wasn’t in STEM herself, her strength as a woman has inspired me to pursue all of my passions as well as help make this possible for all womankind. My grandmother had polio at the age of 13 and was permanently disabled. She walked with a leg brace the rest of her life but that did not slow her down one bit. Despite often complicated home life she worked hard and graduated high school and went to Duke. She originally planned to go into medicine but was shocked at the limited resources for women. She was one of only a handful of women going into pre med when she began. Women had curfews on campus in regards to access to the libraries and labs and such. Many male med fraternities also had special access to archived cases to use to study that women didn’t have. She eventually saw how little women had and switched her plan. Although she had to sacrifice medicine due to her gender she did not let that stop her from working hard and being successful. She worked as an educator for many years working with kids with learning differences. She also worked with child protective services in educating families on how to properly care for their children. She earned a PhD despite her many obstacles. She showed me that no matter what I choose to do, and whatever obstacles I face, hard work pays off.”
“I love how Girls Code the World was started by high schoolers and run by all women. It makes my goals even more possible because people just like me were able to achieve so much.”
~Samantha on what she likes about Girls Code the World
We are very appreciative for everything Samantha has done at Girls Code the World, and are so excited to see her continue to lead, grow, work hard, and inspire!