Back to the Lab

WISE Club Starts In-Person Activities

Photocourtesy of Hemani Goje

Posing together in the UT parking lot, WISE members smile at the camera together on one of the club’s fieldtrips to the UT campus to look throw telescopes. Fieldtrips are a big part of WISE, bringing science outside of the classroom. “We traditionally go to the UT campus and look at the telescopes and tour the campus at night,” club sponsor and Physics teacher Allison Trueblood said. “[We also] go on other field trips to different science museums around.”

Sofya Bashirova, Reporter
October 1, 2021

Goggles, gloves and test tubes fill the science room as WISE members prepare for new activities, such as experiments, talks with well-known scientists and even field trips to the Science Museum.  After adapting science to an online environment, WISE, or Women in Science and Engineering members are ready to participate in hands-on activities back in the classroom.

“Last year we were very limited since we only talked about science articles and did Kahoots, but this year it’s a lot more fun since we are actually going to do a lot of hands-on experiments,” senior Vice President Harshini Addepalle said. “We plan on doing all kinds of scientific experiments, some biology experiments and some engineering experiments.”

With the introduction of these new chances to learn, members wish to emphasize what the club is all about.

“WISE promotes and celebrates women who have made contributions in the STEM field,” Addepelle said. “It aims to create a space where people who are passionate about STEM can find other people with the same interests as them and teach them about different jobs available in the field.”

According to Physics teacher and WISE sponsor, Allison Trueblood, WISE has been life-changing since the first day eight years ago. She said her own experience in STEM is motivation for the club.

“Being a young woman majoring in a scientific career, I didn’t feel like there were a lot of people like me, and I thought that it would be good to help grow the number of women who major in a STEM field,” Trueblood said.

Since 2012, WISE has a strong tradition of giving out the maximum amount of opportunities to students, including field trips.

“We have a couple of speakers coming this year,” Trueblood said. “We traditionally go to the UT campus and look at the telescopes and tour the campus at night, as well as go on other field trips to different science museums around.”

In addition to these, spontaneous experiments during meetings are not unusual either. The club also takes field trips to explore different aspects of the STEM programs

“Next meeting we are going to be making bath bombs,” senior President Hemani Goje said. “Field trips are also coming up very soon”WISE, although traditionally catered to women, is now a club open to any student looking to pursue a career in the STEM field. Meeting are every other Tuesday during DEN in Ms. Trueblood’s room.