It has been said that behind every successful man is a woman, but what is behind every successful woman?
Larissa Vingilis-Jaremko is the winner of the prestigious YWCA 2006 Young Woman of Distinction Award, presented to her and seven others on May 30 in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the youth of the city. She is being recognized particularly for her commitment to educating young women in science.
Vingilis-Jaremko, 23, will graduate this year with a life sciences degree, but her talent, skills, and drive reach far beyond class. She has been a voice in the world of science education since a very early age.
Her mother was a scientist, her father an engineer, and they both ensured Vingilis-Jaremko grew up in a household where academic dreams and passions were celebrated. She was exposed to science with a sense of the fun and discovery but soon she realized that her female peers did not share the same mentality.
“The girls hated science, they thought of scientists as old men with crazy hair,” says Vingilis-Jaremko. With a passion to overcome these barriers and her mother as a role model, Vingilis-Jaremko founded the Canadian Association for Girls in Science (CAGIS) at only nine years old.
A not-for-profit organization for science-hungry girls aged seven to sixteen, CAGIS is dedicated to exploring science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and has grown from a small local chapter to a Canada-wide organization. Members meet on a monthly basis and learn about science in a fun way.
“The girls [in the organization] no longer see science as difficult or boring,” she said. Instead, they look forward to soaking in knowledge that is increasingly important given the pace of advancements in technology and medicine. Her goal is to pave the way for more women in positions of authority in the sciences.
Through her advocacy through STEM, Vingilis-Jaremko has become one of the few whose work at an early point in their careers has had a real impact in her field and on the community.
