CUTIE PIS OF D-HIGH IS A CLUB AT DOMINGUEZ HIGH SCHOOL IN COMPTON UNIFIED CREATED TO SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE GIRLS IN THE AREA OF MATHEMATICS
The club meets monthly focusing on four foundational tenets:
representation, identification, community, and mentorship.
Our Instagram feed is updated often and can be seen below.
AMAZING MENTORS!
The Cutie Pis would like to thank each of the inspiring role models who have given their time to come speak to us, motivate us, and stay connected with us.
JADE HARRIS
Today we met Jade, Senior Analyst of Strategy and Analytics at InStride, and our first mentor.
She talked to us about the challenges she faced as an undergrad math major at UCLA. In classes with over 50 students, she was almost always the only Latina. This was intimidating at times and made her feel like she didn't belong. After graduating, she experienced similar emotions during job recruiting, business school classes, and industry networking events.
Jade told us that it's important to remember that we earn every opportunity to be where we are. She also said that a good group of friends is important and that they will help us get through tough times.
It was nice meeting someone who was in the same math classes as Mr. C at UCLA. I know college math and science classes will be challenging but if she did it, I can do it too.
Thanks for talking with us 💞💞
✍🏼 Diana
LAUREN HOLIDAY
Today the Cutie Pis met two-time Olympic gold medalist & World Cup champion, Lauren Holiday 🙏🏾🙏🏾 After everyone stopped being nervous, she talked with them about everything from her Olympic experiences, how she felt the moment she knew she was gonna score a goal in the World Cup final, to how she balanced school, life, and sports.
Later, her husband, Jrue Holiday, showed up and shared his experience playing in high school, college, and the NBA, what inspired him when he was young, and some of the joys him and Lauren share raising their daughter.
Thank you both for your time and for driving out to make this opportunity happen. This was very memorable for them!
Also, thank you to Tia Cecy for taking care of their transportation last minute, Grandma Maria for being a chaperone, and our first Momma Pi, Ms. Maria, for buying everyone ice cream.
Today was a great day!
✍🏽 Mr. C
LASHYRA NOLEN
Today we met LaShyra Nolen, Compton native and first ever Black female President of Harvard Medical School’s student body!
Lash talked to us about keeping focused, battling their fears, and the importance of community and staying balanced.
She also shared stories about being raised by a teen single mother & how watching her mom work long hours continues to inspire her today. We had a lot of questions for her because many of us are considering a career in medicine.
Thank you, Lash, for spending time out of your winter break to share your experiences with our group. It’s so impactful for us to see someone from literally our same community doing amazing things. We appreciate you so much 🙏🏾🙏🏾
Thank you to Ms. Pleasant for opening your restaurant to us and sponsoring the entire meal! We all enjoyed the food and hospitality 😄 Everyone left full and grateful.
Thank you to Ms. Zurita for connecting us with Ms. Pleasant and helping to make this opportunity possible!
✍🏼 Karla
ROCHELLE MANUEL
Today we met Rochelle, a Manufacturing Engineer at Boeing.
I asked her if she ever feels intimidated by other people in the room when she is the only woman of color and she told me, “No, because you always have to think, I deserve to be here and I worked hard to get to this.”
Thank you, Rochelle, for talking with us and hanging out with us 🌸
Also, thank you to Felicia, Lauren, Ryan, & Layne for covering our food for the meeting 🙏🏼🙏🏼
✍🏼 Liz
KATHERINE HALL
Today was our last CP meeting of the year 🤧 We met Katherine, a Labor and Delivery Nurse at Long Beach Memorial.
She catches the babies and cleans them after they are born 😮 She talked to us about how stressful a nursing program can be 🤧 but she said it was all worth it and she loves her job 👏 She also said, “It’s beautiful to see people so happy to meet their baby.” 😌
Thanks for talking with us 🙈💞 Also, thank you to Mark for covering our food this time 😁🙏
✍🏽 Sheila
GIRL SPACE
Spending my day at this very empowering Girl Space event has made me open my eyes to many opportunities here in our city from Compton Girls Club to Color Compton which offers paid internships.
We went to three different workshops and got to hear other women’s empowering stories about how they have dealt with being a woman in businesses and some experiences they encountered.
We were told to not let anyone put us down and to be our own person with our own passions. Thank you to everyone who helped make Girl Space a great experience for all of us 💕💕
✍🏼 Dulce
WOMEN IN STEM CAREER DAY (CSUDH)
Today we went to the Women in STEM Career Day at Cal State Dominguez Hills 👩🏽🔬 We met 58 different women with different professions in STEM from Melissa Manke Fimbres, a Process Safety Manager at Valero, to Thao Nguyen, a Project Manager at Women in Pharma.
Our keynote was Raquel Nuno (@TheSpaceGeologist), an immigrant from Portugal who was the first in her family to obtain a college degree. In undergrad, she focused on Geophysics and Space Physics, then later earned her master’s in Planetary Geology. Now she is a Planetary Scientist and researches the impact that craters have on the Moon and Mars.
It was inspiring to hear her story💪🏼 She came to America at age 11 and had to face a language barrier which was challenging for her😱 Later, she made personal sacrifices and joined the Air Force to take care of her terminally ill father 😣 All of her experiences have led to the strong woman she is today☺️😎
This was a fun and meaningful experience. We would love to come back next year 😁
✍🏼 Melissa
UCLA OB/GYN DEPARTMENT
Today we participated in a Zoom workshop on Healthy Relationships, Communication, and Consent, led by Caitlin and Brianna, two educators from UCLA’s OB/GYN Department.
They taught us the importance of consent, what consent means, sexual boundaries, and what to do in situations dealing with physical and non-physical abuse.
We learned the characteristics of healthy and unhealthy relationships and how we should value ourselves and others. Going through possible scenarios and discussing them as a group was very helpful.
Learning how to approach these situations is important and I’m thankful for being given the opportunity to experience this.
All of us who attended enjoyed the workshop and are looking forward to the next one!
✍🏽 Jalyn
PCF WOMEN IN SCIENCE FORUM PRESENTERS
On October 20th, 2020, the Cutie Pi's were given an amazing opportunity to lead a session in an international virtual summit held by the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Our topic was “The Effects of the Pandemic on High School STEM Students”.
With top doctors and researchers from the likes of Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Miami, and PCF in attendance, the girls shared their experiences, struggles, and how their positive attitude and resilience helps get them through these challenging times.
The girls spent many hours over the last few months preparing for the pre-recorded part of the session. Today, they participated in a live Q & A, moderated by Dr. Brandon Mahal and Dr. Elisabeth Heath.
I’m very proud of the 5 who stepped forward to take on this opportunity. It’s encouraging to know they led a session in a national forum as juniors in high school and did an amazing job! I’d also like to thank every other member of this club who has been supportive throughout the entire experience. Lastly, thank you Xochilt for sharing your gift with this audience. Between the session and the performance, everyone who watched left feeling encouraged and that’s what we all need right now.
Some professionals in attendance have already reached out to find ways to support. I look forward to networking and figuring out how to connect them with more role models and create more impactful experiences for them.
I know I said it already but Liz, Jizzle, ShayShay, Jessica, Jenise, and Sochittle, I’m proud of you! Let’s do more.
✍🏾 Mr. C
CP Vlog: Meeting Lauren & Jrue Holiday
Xochilt singing "Rise Up" by Andra Day (PCF Women In Science Forum)
KTLA News with Lynette Romero
