Members of the Alliance accepting the Chapter of the Year award
“Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (oSTEM), Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit professional association for LGBTQ+ people in the STEM community. With over 100 student chapters at colleges/universities and professional chapters in cities across the United States and abroad, oSTEM is the largest chapter-based organization focused on LGBTQ+ people in STEM.” Learn more at ostem.org.
The Alliance at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is a chapter of oSTEM, providing a community for LGBTQIAP+ people in STEM. The Alliance recently attended the 13th Annual oSTEM Conference in Anaheim, California. There were over 1200 attendees, including students, chapter advisors, professionals, and volunteers. The Alliance brought a delegation of 18 students and 2 advisors.
During the oSTEM Community Awards Ceremony, the Alliance was awarded Chapter of the Year. According to the oSTEM website, “[t]his award recognizes the ongoing accomplishments of established oSTEM Chapters. The guiding purpose of the oSTEM organization is to empower LGBTQ+ people in STEM to succeed personally, academically, and professionally by cultivating environments and communities that nurture innovation, leadership, and advocacy. It is the oSTEM chapters that contribute greatly to this work.” During the Community Awards ceremony, the Alliance’s commitment to making events accessible to all members of the LGBTQIAP+ community by avoiding publication of photos of club members without their consent, soliciting feedback from attendees of large events, and hosting a variety of events to appeal to different parts of the community.
Two Alliance members, Maya Evohr ’25 (she/her) and Sara Frunzi ’24 (she/her), presented their posters “3D Printed System for Simultaneous Stretch and Imaging of Engineered Microtissues,” and “Towards Robotic Exoskeleton Multi-Contact Walking Via A Gait Library,” respectively, during the Poster Session at the conference. Sara was awarded the People’s Choice Award for her poster.
Maya Evohr presenting her poster “3D Printed System for Simultaneous Stretch and Imaging of Engineered Microtissues.”
Sara Frunzi presenting her poster “Towards Robotic Exoskeleton Multi-Contact Walking Via A Gait Library.”
Sara Frunzi accepting her People’s Choice Award for her poster, along with the other poster awardees and Abby Ray (she/they), the oSTEM Vice President of Marketing and Communications.
The primary purpose of The Alliance, affiliate oSTEM Chapter is to provide a community for people of any gender identity or sexual or romantic orientation. Our secondary purpose is to promote advocacy and awareness regarding persons of any gender identity or sexual or romantic orientation. The Alliance became an affiliate oSTEM chapter in 2016 and has since attended each annual conference.