By Diya Kalia
CAGIS Teen Ambassador
Diya Kalia has spent the past 10 years (from age 8!) as an avid CAGIS member. She was just awarded Canada’s most coveted undergraduate STEM scholarship: the Schulich Leader Scholarship ($120,000 value).
Diya shares her Top Ten Takeaways from over a decade of CAGIS adventures.
When I was eight, my parents enrolled me in CAGIS, thinking it could be an amazing way for me to explore my budding interest in STEM. Ten years and dozens of CAGIS sessions later, I’m now wrapping up my final months as a Member and Teen Ambassador.
Looking back, I’ve learned a bunch about STEM, but also many lessons that go far beyond science. Here are my favourite ten of them!
1. STEM is larger than I ever could have imagined: Whether observing glowing transgenic mice or learning about glacier movement by creating my own, I discovered a new corner of STEM every CAGIS session. No matter how much I learned, there was always more to be explored!
2. Curiosity is a superpower!
3. Sometimes, things just don’t work on the first try: I’ve had my share of experiments gone sideways, or workshops that didn’t quite go as planned. However, these mini failures always lead to better results and better stories!
4. STEM doesn’t have to be serious or scary, it can just be plain fun!
5. Don’t underestimate the power of teamwork: Every year, the CAGIS Teen Ambassadors work together to pull off two CAGIS Virtual events. It amazed me to see Teen Ambassadors from across the country bring their unique ideas and talents together to create an awesome event!
6. Every STEM journey is exciting and different: Even after a decade of CAGIS workshops, I’ve never met two STEM experts who had the same path to where they are now! I’ve found it exciting and comforting to know there’s no “right” path in STEM.
7. Messy and hands-on projects are often the best ones!
8. Don’t wait until you feel ready: Back in 2023, CAGIS invited me to be a Youth Panelist at their side event at the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women. I was initially hesitant, since public speaking was something unfamiliar to me. However, in taking this leap, I discovered I enjoyed public speaking, going on to represent CAGIS at other events, such as the Ontario Science Centre’s International Day of Women in STEM!
9. Science can be found in a lab, but also in your backyard and kitchen!
10. Community is everything: There’s a special type of belonging you feel growing up with girls who are just as passionate about a topic as you are. In fact, I’m even starting university this fall with two girls I met at my very first CAGIS event when I was eight!
This fall, I’m starting the next chapter of my STEM Journey studying engineering at McMaster University as a Schulich Leader. While I certainly have all the first-year nerves, I’m ready to take on next year with all CAGIS has taught me!
About the Author
Diya is a CAGIS Teen Ambassador alum and has participated as a CAGIS member for the past ten years. She is a recent high school graduate and is now studying engineering at McMaster University.
