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As a mathematician, I have long despaired of making my discipline interesting to people outside of my field of study. Most people freeze up or turn away when I’ve approached them with the beautiful concepts of mathematics.

I am a STEM Ambassador for the University of Utah. This program has played an important role in teaching me how to approach various outreach and public engagement events. I am deeply passionate about educating the public in STEM, and outreach activities for inspiring kids to become interested in STEM fields.

When I started to think about public engagement of science, few things came to my mind: do table-top activities, give public seminars and get everyone excited about science. Though these were good starting points, the initial excitement slowly faded and nagging questions began creeping: Why am I doing it? How do I benefit from it?

My friend took a sip of his coffee and then smiled. “You would really like this program. You need to apply for this program.” Looking up the program online, I learned that STEMAP participants focused on designing content for segments of the population not typically drawn to science or for people who have limited access to educational materials.