STEM Ambassadors

Planning for the University of Guam (UOG) Island Wisdom Mini Regatta began in August 2025, in pwo navigator Larry Raigetal's office at the UOG Micronesian Area Research Center (MARC). We had come to him looking for a STEM Ambassadors Program (STEMAP) project idea grounded in reciprocity with the community. What he shared was bigger than we expected: a long-held vision for a Micronesia-wide voyaging cup, starting from Guåhan and sailing to Saipan and back, rooted in the living tradition of Pacific and Micronesian wayfinding. The Mini Regatta, he explained, could be a first step toward that.

Most STEM career events focus on pathways. Students learn about majors, internships, scholarships, graduate school, and job opportunities. Speakers often present the polished version of success: the degrees they earned, the positions they hold, and the milestones they achieved. That information is valuable, but it rarely provides the full picture. Students hear about the opportunities STEM can offer, but less often about the realities that accompany them. What does it feel like to be the only person who looks like you in the room?

As a PhD student in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Utah, my research focuses on soil health, biosolids land application, and the safe reuse of treated wastewater byproducts as resources in agricultural systems. Through the STEM Ambassador Program, I had the opportunity to share this work with students in the Promise South Salt Lake after-school program at Granite Park Junior High. My goal was to make environmental engineering feel understandable, relevant, and exciting for junior high school students by showing how something many people think of as “waste” can become a valuable resource for soil and plants.