Dear Reader,

Dear Halle Gregory,

You recently approached me about one of our posts. The post about the article that I recently read. Being one of my close friends, you were able to share with me how you felt about that article. You told me that the review on the article had upset you because you believed that I was targeting girls that like hair and makeup. I am sorry I offended you, Halle, and I would like to take this opportunity to reply to what you said to me, and, perhaps, clarify my teams message. 

Dear Reader, 

STEM is for everyone!
Image credit to
eurokulture.missouri.edu

We believe that anyone can do robotics, despite their gender, age, race, or hobbies. Our goal is to include you. We want to break stereotypes and show everyone that the girls that like things that are "girly" are doing robotics. We certainly would not want to make you feel oppressed or excluded in any way. As a matter of fact, the four of us girls on Team Ultimum Dominarum are pretty "girly" ourselves. Iva, for example, is a person that takes pride in her clothes and how she looks, which I admire her for. She probably gets up early some days to do her hair or something extra special with her look that day. I know for a fact that Iva does her hair and makeup, too. We accept this and encourage her to take part in this daily activities that she likes. We also encourage Iva to come to robotics looking like this. I, too, am a culprit of doing this as well. I sometimes wake up at 5:30 in the morning, instead of my usual wake up time of 6-6:30 a.m, just to prep myself for a day where I can feel extra good. I wake up and immediately start prepping. I pick out an outfit, do my hair, put makeup on, and look in the mirror twenty times just to make sure that I look perfect. I strut through the halls feeling so good about myself, as I am sure most people do when they manage to put in a little extra effort. When the final bell rings though, I am not afraid to go to robotics because of how I chose to present myself. In fact, that is what we're trying to promote. We want you feel safe when you participate in STEM fields like robotics. To read more about the road to encouraging pretty girls to get into STEM, you can go to a really cool website that I found. Whether you are a girl who doesn't care about how she looks, a boy that likes to dress in a suit and tie everyday, or a person who identifies as a freaking attack helicopter, you are welcome, and you can do anything that you put your mind to. Diversity is a good thing, so I encourage you differentiate yourself. Bring something new to the table. There is no adversity when it comes to diversity!

So finally, don't be afraid to get up a half-hour early to curl your hair, beat your face, and make your outfit extra cute. Don't be nervous to strut into a robotics meeting in your high heels and dress, because I, and the rest of my team, love to do it too!

-Kristina