Impact: It’s what Deena Abu-Dayeh hopes to pursue as part of Northeastern’s electrical engineering program. Despite the challenges of pursuing a STEM major as a woman of color, her resilience and love for physics propelled her decision.

Abu-Dayeh found her path to engineering through her parents’ and older sister’s encouragement.

“I was always interested in Legos and all these circuit kits that my parent would buy me, so I knew I wanted to do something (in) engineering,” Abu-Dayeh said. “Then, my dad kind of put me on the path because he knew that I like to do all these things.”

Over the past few years, Abu-Dayeh has overcome loneliness in male-dominated STEM classes and thrived despite the gender gap.

“I’ve learned a lot from (the struggles) that I can just kind of go past them,” she said. “They affect me, but they don’t af-
fect me as much as they did (in the past). I plan on learning from these challenges and experiences so I can use them in the future.”

From her experiences, Abu-Dayeh, who is president of Gunn’s Women in STEM Club, wanted to help other girls feel welcome in their fields. As a result, she reached out to other girls to help them discover the benefits of a STEM career.

“It takes a lot of time and energy to decide what you want to do in your life, and having no clear path is really stressful,” she said. “I just wanted to guide people, especially girls in STEM in high school.”

With the start of her college career, Abu-Dayeh is excited to use her experiences and skill set to continue fostering community.

“I’ll apply the skills that I’ve made while in high school and being a woman in STEM to my jobs, and create that support system and create that community no matter where I go,” she said.