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Vol. 38, No. 18 |
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2-15-2006 Succeeding at science: Documentary traces female students' academic, personal pathsIn 1997, filmmaker Helen De Michiel was one of four artists commissioned by the Wexner Center to create projects focused on the class of 2001, the first class of a new millennium. On March 1, her finished film, The Gender Chip Project, will make its world premiere when it screens at the Wexner Center. "What I wanted to do was create a community," said De Michiel, who organized meetings, field trips and luncheons for the students with faculty guests several times a year. "They were all interested in being there, not as a club or a class, but as a project in this world between." The students were encouraged to think about and discuss the challenges and joys of their studies, examine their futures and analyze their experiences as women. Those discussions are shared in the film. "They don't think they can do it all. They have a high awareness of the problems and challenges they will be facing," said De Michiel, who nevertheless found her subjects to be optimistic and determined to succeed. "I think their contribution to the world will be ways to integrate community and family into the science, engineering and math worlds. It's not an either/or proposition." Bill Horrigan, the Wexner Center's director of media art, originally contacted De Michiel to participate in the class of 2001 project and has watched the film develop from an abstract concept to an audience-ready piece. He is pleased with the final product. "It is very moving," he said. "I think it's fantastic to see the ways these women grow. It's incredibly empathetic and inspirational and is shot in an accessible way. It makes for great conversation." To help spark those conversations, on March 1 the Wexner Center is hosting two panels, in addition to screening the documentary twice (see sidebar, below). Several of the women featured in the film will participate in the first panel, including Amanda Graf, who majored in molecular biology with the goal of entering medical school. Graf met that goal and is on track to graduate from Ohio State's College of Medicine this spring, with plans to specialize in pediatrics. She enjoyed being a part of The Gender Chip Project. "It helped me look at the opportunities I did have," she said. "It was a lot harder for the engineering women. Medicine is moving in the right direction in terms of women's involvement in the field." "People are pretty much doing what they said they wanted to do at the end of the film," De Michiel said. "Ultimately, what was very interesting is they are so confident and passionate about what they're doing. They can't see themselves doing anything else. They really had a dream when they were 18 that this is exactly what they wanted to do. It's amazing because they actually do it." De Michiel is passionate about cultivating more success stories. She has collaborated with the Media Working Group to use this project as a touchstone for multimedia tools that can facilitate dialog online, and at workshops and gatherings in and "The hope is that, in the long run, we can help trigger actions - mentoring young girls to get them on track to take these fields seriously and finally, as a way of changing policies to make workplaces friendly for all people," she said. "These fields really do need women workers and there simply are not enough women who are training." Free screenings March 1 events include:
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