Educating future leaders and innovators in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields is a priority for the School of Sciences and Health Professions. Thanks to dedicated faculty and funding from organizations such as NASA and the Henry Luce Foundation, Simmons students have access to a robust array of internship, research, and mentoring opportunities.
Those opportunities, combined with a women-centered learning environment, result in a thriving STEM experience. “At first I didn’t know if I wanted to go to a women-centered college, but there hasn’t been a moment in class where I’ve been annoyed like I was in co-ed classrooms,” Gina Gawargi ’27 says.
Gawargi, who plans to major in neuroscience on the pre-med track, says some of her most memorable Simmons experiences are associated with her work as a chemistry teaching assistant. “I like the responsibility of talking to students, making those connections, and helping them move forward,” she says. “It’s also helpful for me to cement the basics.”
For Fuma Iwakura ’27, the decision to pursue a biology major and public health minor on the pre-physician assistant track is a personal one. During freshman year of high school, they were diagnosed with leukemia and spent six months in the hospital. Iwakura received a bone marrow transplant and is approaching five years of remission. The experience has shaped their life and future career.
“I had the chance to observe a lot of roles in the health care industry — not just doctors, but social workers, child life specialists, and others,” they say. “In the future, I want to be able to interact with patients, understand, and explain things.”
Their experience at Simmons, thus far, has been empowering. “It’s been so reassuring interacting with faculty and learning more about the research they do,” Iwakura says. “The small class sizes have also been helpful. They’ve made me less scared to ask questions, and it’s easier to get to know people.”
The STEM fields also hold a strong personal connection for MJ Vasquez ’26, a chemistry major who is part of Simmons’ 3+2 engineering program. She’s pursuing a STEM career in part to help families like hers who are predisposed to cancer. “It’s really hard to find food and hair products without carcinogens in them,” she says. “I like the chemical side of engineering and want to make healthier products more accessible to people.”
Both Gawargi and Vasquez participate in lab research with Dr. Arpita Saha, where they synthesize and study metal-based complexes for use in chemotherapy drugs.
“Not a lot of universities give their undergraduate students so many opportunities in labs,” says Gawargi. “There’s so much freedom here and the research opportunities are really good.”
Iwakura, Gawargi, and Vasquez are part of the Dynamic Research Education Academy for Mentoring (DREAM) program, which currently has about 60 student participants. The NASA-funded initiative helps increase the retention of Simmons students in STEM fields.
“The DREAM program really thinks about the things that will help us in the long run,” Vasquez says. “I’ve signed up for LinkedIn, reviewed my résumé, participated in alumnae/i events, and applied for internships that are really competitive. I don’t know if I would have been able to do all those things by myself.”