Belonging in STEM: Dr. Marguerite Matthews’ Story

Eliana Stanislawski
Science Not Silence
5 min readFeb 1, 2018

By: Marguerite Matthews, PhD, AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow, National Institutes of Health

Dr. Matthews doing STEM outreach. Photo by: Chris Williams.

On my twitter page, I have a tweet pinned to the top of my feed of a quote from my dad that reads, “If I were a young student, I would want you to be my tutor and mentor, Dr. Matthews.” It was my dad’s response to an article I published about my experiences in recruiting a new generation of STEM through outreach and education activities.

It’s hard to describe the pride and honor I felt to be acknowledged in this way from a man who was my first science instructor, mentor, and tutor; a man whose insatiable curiosity and intellect has awed and inspired me for so many years.

And for my dad to see me as the one to serve as the source of inspiration, support, and guidance to others is both a great compliment and a call to serve.

Growing Up With Science

Dr. Matthews shares her experience in the new MFS Book, releasing this March 2018 by MIT Press.

In my story for the March for Science book, Science Not Silence: Voices from the March for Science Movement, I describe the everyday science lessons I learned at home with my dad. My dad’s scientific approach to understanding even the most mundane things in my world largely shaped my belief that science is something we do and a way we think, rather than just a discipline or body of knowledge that you learn in school. Anyone who is inquisitive enough to observe and examine the physical world around them can do science and be a scientist.

And yet, I never saw myself as an actual, paid scientist. I didn’t know anyone whose profession was “scientist”. The only images I had of scientists were the wild hair and thick mustache of Albert Einstein or the colorful bowties of Bill Nye, and, as a Black adolescent girl, I could not relate. I was a diligent, straight-A student with a strong proclivity for the sciences, but I never thought to aspire to a scientific career simply because I couldn’t picture myself in one.

Had it not been for my high school chemistry teacher seeing in me what I couldn’t see for myself and convincing me to apply to a summer research internship program, I very likely would not have given laboratory research a second thought. Having the opportunity to spend my last high school summer on the campus of the well-renowned Salk Institute, in a famous geneticist’s laboratory, entrusted with as much responsibility as the graduate students in the lab, was pivotal for me.

For the first time, I was getting to be an actual scientist who was making tangible contributions to the scientific community. While I didn’t see any other scientists within the walls of the research institute who looked anything like me, I knew without a doubt that I belonged there just as much as anyone else.

Being in the Room

That sense of belonging, along with being valued for my work and my knowledge, propelled me to pursue degrees in biochemistry and neuroscience and officially become a professional scientist.! I have taken my casual scientific curiosity to a more scholarly, focused level of exploration and examination of the world than I’d had before. I have the credentials to enter and belong to elite science circles, but it can be lonely and isolating. I’m almost always the only, or one of very few, female scientist(s) of color in any given room, and I often feel seen and not heard, if my existence is acknowledged at all.

As frustrating and discouraging as that can be, I’m in the room. I worked hard to be there, I belong there, and I can open the door to invite others like me in. I am where I am today because of the many professors and mentors — most of whom do not share my racial or ethnic background — who believed in me and helped open the doors, guided me down the path, pulled up a chair for me to have a seat at the table, and reassured me that I deserved to be in the room. I am determined to offer the same help.

Excerpt from Dr. Matthews in the Science Not Silence book.

I do not take for granted that the many opportunities I’ve been exposed to and the people who were apart of them, from my youth to now, have contributed to my ability to establish myself in any given environment. As smart, capable, and as hard working as I am, my success as a scientist largely hinges on the access and resources I had. So, it is extremely important for me to create and support a variety of STEM opportunities — from youth engagement and education to mentorship and professional development — for both making science for everyone and creating better representation of everyone in the STEM workforce. I also see a need for these opportunities be welcoming to and nurturing of everyone, especially those from underrepresented and marginalized groups. Because how do you belong in a room or at a table that you were never been invited or embraced to in the first place?

I love being a scientist — whether I’m at work writing a research paper or at dinner with friends arguing the science of Doctor Who. My pinned tweet with my dad’s affirming words serves as a reminder to me that my love of science is contagious, and the work I do in STEM is meaningful. To know there are people who look to me for inspiration and guidance gives me hope that more kids will see themselves reflected in STEM careers and feel empowered to join in and belong.

Marguerite Matthews is a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow in the DC area, where she uses her PhD in neuroscience and zeal for STEM education towards developing a more diverse scientific workforce.

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Eliana Stanislawski
Eliana Stanislawski

Written by Eliana Stanislawski

Communications Fellow with the March for Science

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