FINS: Supporting Girls in STEM

Today’s students are the scientists and conservationists of tomorrow, and we need our nation’s girls to be part of the next generation’s innovators.

F.I.N.S. provides girls with hands-on experience in women-led marine science.

The Females in Natural Sciences (F.I.N.S.) initiative, created by former SRC Intern and Fulbright Scholar Julia Whidden, was designed, developed, and implemented by women for girls. Its goal is to provide middle and high school girls with hands-on marine science experience and supportive mentorship. From time in the classroom learning to code and analyze data, to lab work processing samples, to the chance to join us for a day of field research, FINS participants are able to experience science in action and engage with a women-led research team at different stages of their scientific careers, creating “near peer” mentorship opportunities.  The F.I.N.S. experience is interactive, empowering, and rewarding, allowing girls to work with inspiring women role models.

In 2025, FINS was supported by funding through NOAA and the National Marine Sanctuaries Foundation’s Ocean Odyssey grant program.

Currently, FINS opportunities are limited, but interested organizations can reach out to our logistics coordinator at UMSharkResearch@earth.miami.edu to join our interest list!

According to the National Science Foundation, women are an underrepresented group in science – representing only 25% of all of those working in STEM careers and only 11% of engineering jobs – despite composing 50% of the workforce.

Previous studies have revealed that girls with access to primarily male examples of scientists and engineers are less likely to think they could be successful in STEM careers, which is why the FINS initiative is supported by women faculty, graduate students, and staff. FINS is intended to inspire more women in STEM fields by providing girls with exciting and informal science experiences free of grades or evaluation, where they can seek inspiration and mentorship from relatable women at multiple stages of their scientific careers.

1. To address the gender disparity in STEM fields and encourage girls to stay engaged in the sciences;
2. To provide an exciting opportunity for children and youth to engage with nature;
3. To stimulate public interest in our oceans, particularly in the next generation.

The FINS initiative is an extension of the SRC’s successful community outreach programs, which provide more than 8oo people per year, mostly school children, with opportunities to participate in scientific research. We are grateful to Julia Whidden, former SRC Fulbright visiting scholar, who helped establish the FINS initiative, and to past graduate student Gaitlyn Malone who supported the initiative’s growth in recent years. FINS would not be possible without the generosity of our donors and the many incredible women who have served as FINS mentors and role models.