Stephanie Martinez Flores: ' I never want them to be out represented by a man.'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seaside High School

 

^{“Have a passion to learn - that is what gets me through,” says Seaside High School 10th grader Stephanie Flores. “Don’t feel discredited for a wrong answer. Don’t feel discredited for any mistakes you make. It’s all part of the learning process. Find a good group of friends - they really help you out.” This is the advice that Stephanie has for younger peers.} 

 

^{A life learner of MPUSD schools, Stephanie attended George C. Marshall Elementary School and Seaside Middle School before coming to Seaside High School.} 

^{At Seaside she has really taken to computer science. In fact, the school recently earned the College Board’s AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award for Expanding Young Women’s Access to AP Computer Science Principles for the third year in a row. Freshmen are required to take computer science and ultimately an AP computer science class.}

^{Stephanie is very proud stating, “Females don’t have quite the advantage as males and our school is taking a step forward to level out the playing field for us. Studies show women being behind the curve or having more struggles and I never want them to be out represented by a man or beat out by a man.”}

^{“I feel like it (computer science) has helped my confidence in computers, and definitely enhanced my analytical thinking,” she says. “I do love reading the language and there are so many languages in computers and it's so fascinating to see them work.”}

^{In computer science classes, students like Stephanie learn how to program a game or learn how to program an app.}

 

^{“My teachers really inspire me in that class,” she says. “They are patient with us since this is all so new to us (students).”}

^{As if taking weight training, computer science, math, English, chemistry, a Monterey Peninsula College composition class, CSIS 10 (another computer class), Advanced Placement environmental science, and AP world history were not enough, Stephanie participates on the school’s robotics team and even swims for Seaside High.}

^{“I love the community here. I love the model of family. The teachers make an effort to be more about the students. They make an effort to find classes for us,” says Stephanie.}

^{Post high school, she intends to become the first in her family to attend college, and she wants to study neuroscience, such as the brain, and possibly become a neurologist. She would like to study treatment, spinal issues, and nervous issues. “The brain is always a fascinating thing,” she says. “It’s fascinating to study the unknown.”}

^{When she isn’t busy studying or exploring her love of learning, she enjoys coffee and listening to podcasts and audiobooks.}