While it is not difficult to find a student who is interested in majoring in a STEM-related field (any field pertaining to science, technology, engineering or mathematics), it remains a difficulty to create gender equality amongst STEM majors, as females are drastically underrepresented in these fields. Both a leading female in STEM and a mathematics and computer science major, junior/senior Carole Hall stands out as an exemplar for future students to follow. Through her academic excellence and over-achieving curriculum, Carole Hall discusses her motivation and the facts behind her genius in an interview with CAHS’s journalism team.

Q: So tell me a little bit about your involvement in CAHS’s activities and organizations.

A: Okay! So, I am part of Classical Academy High School’s Speech Team, Classical Academy High School’s Academic League, and I am a treasurer for the History Club. I’m also connected with the CAHS Fashion Club.     

Q: What made you want to decide to graduate a year early? Has the college application process been difficult for you as you face technicalities, such as technically being a senior and technically being a junior at the same time?

A: I took a bunch of math classes [at Classical], and it turned out that CAHS doesn’t offer anything past Calculus BC. I finished Calculus BC in my sophomore year, so I decided to graduate a year early just because being in high school for another year would really hold me back. I wouldn’t be able to take any classes, I can’t take any more community college math courses anymore, and they usually don’t let high schoolers take university classes, since the ones I want to take are reserved for juniors or seniors in college.

I’ve heard that the [admissions office] looks down at your application a little more harshly if you’re a junior, since they’re not expecting juniors to be able to handle the workload in college as much as a senior. They look at your application with a bit more judgement than they would if you applied as a senior. However, I got into the college I wanted to go to, plus a couple of other colleges that are pretty nice. The whole application process was super stressful for about a month, but after that it was pretty nice when everything ended.

Q: What is your intended major in college, and what do you believe has directed your interest towards this subject?

A: Right now, I’ve applied to the school I want to go to as a mathematics and computer science major, so I’m planning on probably double-majoring in mathematics and computer science. I think what really put me on the track to that was the fact that both my parents are scientists, and they would always stress the importance of mathematics and computer science more so than…Well, they always told me that I should always pay attention in math class or science class, and that, whatever I do in English or History is fine, but those subjects are not as important as mathematics and science.

Q: Can you give me an example or experience that demonstrates your passion for the subject which you have decided to major in? 

A: Last summer after my sophomore year, I took a C programming (one of the oldest computer programming languages invented) course at Palomar College. That [course] really kind of made me think, “Hey! I’m actually good at this kind of thing!” I also had a really great professor who was really encouraging. I didn’t really understand [the course] at first, but I did really well on the final, and my professor was always rooting for me, so that was great.

Q: What does being a female who is pursuing a STEM major mean to you? Do you believe that minorities should be encouraged to pursue STEM related career more?

A: NO! Just kidding. I’ve always seen encouragement, but it has been…Like, I’ve never been discriminated against for being a female in STEM, and for the most part, I’ve been usually one out of at most four girls in any of the college courses that I’ve taken. It’s kind of weird, but I’ve got used to it and used to around being around mostly males a long time ago, so it’s not bad, it’s just different, I would say, than going into a liberal arts field.

Q: Out of all the college prep, AP, and actual college courses which you have taken, which course has been your favorite and which has been your least favorite? Why?

A: Oh gosh! My favorite was probably C programming…No—maybe Linear Algebra; that was a cool class, but the final sucked! But I would say my favorite was C programming, just because it wasn’t necessarily the “easiest” [course], but because it was the course which I understood the most. It was one of those things that kind of came naturally to me, and I had a really cool, laid-back professor. Even though it was a really long class, it went pretty well. I would say my least favorite was Calculus III… I mean [my professor] was a cool, nice guy, but it was just… Like I prefer Calculus II over Calculus III, just ‘cause I think Calculus III was too visual for me, and I’m definitely not a visual person. I don’t like visualizing math, even though that’s not something you should not enjoy if you want to go into math.  
With only three years of a high school experience, Carole Hall was accepted into University of California, Los Angeles and University of California, Berkeley, but she will be attending University of Minnesota to pursue her passion for mathematics and computer science. Hall’s status as a rising STEM leader, in addition to other female STEM leaders, will undoubtedly pave the way for future STEM oriented students who are underrepresented in the scientific fields, eventually eliminating the gender gap in these fields.