The students arrived by bus in the morning and filed into MacMillan Hall where they were welcomed by Jerome Robinson, an associate professor of chemistry and one of STEM Day’s lead organizers. After warming up the crowd with a few jokes (“How often should you tell a chemistry joke? Periodically.”), Robinson introduced a panel of Brown students at various stages of their STEM education paths to share their experiences.

The three Brown graduate students and one undergraduate discussed how they turned an interest in science into burgeoning scientific careers. Janet Joseph, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in pathobiology, said that her experience in community college was crucial to finding her eventual path.

“I feel like going to community college kind of gave me a chance to explore more and take a mixed bag of classes,” Joseph said. “I ended up really enjoying my biology [classes], to my own surprise and shock. It was an interesting experience that developed into me loving science, and I never knew that existed inside of me.”

One high schooler in the audience asked the panelists about imposter syndrome — a feeling of self-doubt or being undeserving of one’s achievements. Panelist Lily Borkman, a first-year Brown undergraduate, said she has definitely had to work her way through those feelings.

“One thing you learn by getting a chance to really do research is that if you're willing to think critically about what you're doing and to work carefully in the lab, you are a valuable member,” Borkman said. “You can contribute to the work that's being done.”

After the panel discussion, the visiting students split into small groups to visit labs and classrooms across Brown’s campus — taking in talks and demonstrations on everything from how batteries are made to how folding proteins guide the development of life on Earth.

Tyler Collins, a sophomore at Pilgrim High School in Warwick, Rhode Island, said he was particularly drawn to the physics-themed sessions.

“My favorite part was learning about black holes,” Collins said. “We learned what would happen if you actually went into a black hole, and it was really fascinating. It’s called spaghettification.”

Mina Aqaie, a ninth grader at Pilgrim High School who recently moved to the U.S. from Afghanistan, said that her interest in science is just beginning. She was comforted to learn that she didn’t have to have everything figured out at this point in her life.

“I really liked that the students here told us about how they didn’t know exactly what they were going to do [when they started out],” Aqaie said. “They were just interested, and they wanted to learn, so that's how they continued… until they found what they were really interested in.”

Aqaie said she also enjoyed a session on the genetics of fruit flies, which taught her that there are lots of open questions in science, and that each one is a potential career path.

“The teacher told us that some of the female insects are more likely to die faster than the males, and that we just don't know why,” Aqaie said. “I was like, ‘We can find out! We can just do more investigating!’”

And that’s what science, and STEM Day, are all about.