In celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we'd like to share the story of Frankie Jones. Frankie is passionate about science, philsophy and psychology. She is currently pursuing a degree in environmental engineering studies.
INTRODUCE YOURSELF. TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR FORMAL AND INFORMAL EDUCATION.
My name is Frankie Jones and I love spending my time trying to further my understanding about the universe and its contents. I have a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Psychology and a major in Philosophy. In April I will be finished my environmental engineering studies, where my primary focus is water analysis. I have also done training with the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change for Drinking Water operations, as well as training in Conventional Water Treatment processes at the Walkerton Clean Water Centre. I’m always finding ways to learn more, get more informal and formal training and better understand my quickly evolving field of interest.
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON OR SKILL YOU LEARNED INSIDE THE CLASSROOM AND LAB?
I know not everyone feels the same, but I really value the education process. The most important lesson I learned was how to finish something. It sounds simple, but finishing an assignment, an exam, a test, a year, a degree, then more, has given me a great sense of achievement that translates into my personal life, too.
My lab work has taught me so much about how to manage unpredictable behaviour. Not all compounds behave the way you think they would from the theory you learn, so developing methods to understand new emerging organic compounds or persistent organic pollutants is something I find very interesting. It also really taught me that continuous learning is essential for me. Working at the biggest government water lab in Canada made me so grateful for not knowing very much. “If you’re the smartest person in the room then you’re in the wrong room” are words I live by.
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON OR SKILL YOU LEARNED OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM?
Making my bed, as simple as it sounds, is one of many really important skills I’ve learned outside the classroom and my work. It’s hard to explain why, but if you try making good habits in your private life it really translates into your professional and personal relationships. Try it for 30 days and see if you know what I mean.
WHO WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE TEACHER?
I have had a lot of great teachers, both in school and at work. My most memorable teacher is a chemist I worked with. He had the ability to translate the most complex, technical scientific texts and teach me anything. He used analogies which were perfect for my analytical-abstract blended brain. His level of knowledge and experience was amazing. He was very unapproachable because his intelligence was intimidating to me, but I got over it and built an amazing working relationship with him. If you see someone you want to learn from, trust me, they are never as intimidating as they may seem and probably love talking about what they know.
I went to Montessori from kindergarten to grade 8. Their teaching style and love for education is amazing. Every day I still think about at least one thing my all-time favourite teacher taught me. They really helped me with individual weaknesses that I think could have been potential problems for me had they not intervened and worked with me.
They taught practical things, like how to resolve conflicts from a very young age, how to respectfully debate heated topics, they instilled in us gratitude and thankfulness for the life we are able to live here in Canada. They taught me how to value education and seize opportunities.
Their scientific approach to understanding and valuing each child's spirit and strengths was a huge contributor in making me what I am today. I will always be a cheerleader for the Montessori Method. I am grateful my parents made sacrifices to make education a priority for me and my two sisters. I loved all of my teachers there.
YOU TOOK PSYCHOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY DURING YOUR UNDERGRAD. WHAT GOT YOU INTERESTED IN TAKING ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM?
I get asked this question a lot, especially in job interviews. For me, it wasn’t a switch. Technically it is a change of field from the North American standpoint of what those fields are.
Most of my favourite philosophers were logicians, physicists, mathematicians, and astronomers before they ever delved into the world of philosophy. To fully understand them and where they were coming from, I knew I needed to understand science and math better.
Understanding the universe requires the ability to melt the abstract world with the physical world, the internal world with the external world, however you spin it. I live most of my life based off of my intuition - may sound fluffy, but it’s a real thing. It was an easy decision. I applied to a bunch of science programs because I’m interested in helping the environment, got into all of them, laid the acceptance letters out on the dining room table and said “this one” with no real reason for deciding.
WHAT IS THE MOST INTERESTING THING YOU'VE LEARNED DURING YOUR MOHAWK PROGRAM AND YOUR CO-OP EXPERIENCES?
Honestly, everything about water is so fascinating to me. Literally everything. The way compounds behave together, the way environmental contaminants can make something so life-saving so dangerous. I even look at glasses of water differently now, let alone a lake, it’s amazing and sometimes disturbing what can be inside something completely clear and clean looking.
Specifically, enhancing my knowledge about gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography has been my favourite. Whether people will acknowledge it or not, there is a real water crisis happening, so learning how to extract water samples and analyze them has been really eye-opening.
WHY DO YOU THINK YOUNG GIRLS ARE FALLING BEHIND IN STEM?
This could be for a lot of reasons. Not only is it easy to get pressured away from STEM, it’s really easy to get pressured into an arts program as a girl (hence my initial degree). Some young girls are raised with gender stereotypes, both deliberately and subconsciously imposed. In my field, it is significantly primarily women of all ages. I’m not an expert in this area, so I can’t say why for certain.
WHAT CAN PARENTS DO TO GET YOUNG GIRLS MORE INTERESTED IN STEM?
Inspiring movies are really helpful for young children. Watching space movies and documentaries about whales when I was younger was for sure a driving force for how I ended up here. Showing children the dark side of the world is probably the simplest way to really spark their attention. I’m not advocating for sharing with them more than you think they can handle, but showing them how much litter is in your neighborhood park, or how many bees died because of neonicotinoids (insecticide), or how many animals are in trouble because of the poor quality of our fresh water, are all good ways to really inspire a (probably) already interested young girl.
WHAT IS ONE LESSON YOU'VE LEARNED THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOUNG GIRLS GROWING UP TODAY?
It’s okay to change your mind. People may make fun of girls changing their mind - I see it all the time on Instagram posts and from friends. I promise you, it’s okay to change your mind. I learned some things in my philosophy studies that fully shook my beliefs to the core of my being and turned my world upside down. I thought I would never change my mind about some things and when I started to let that happen it was very liberating.
People become more accountable for something when they say it out loud, like posting about your new fitness regime is a likely way for you to continue it since you have all these people that are making you accountable by ‘following’ you. This works negatively too. If you go around telling people you want to be a teacher for your whole adolescence, and suddenly realize you’ve made it to the end and don’t want to do it anymore, you can change your mind. You don’t have to feel pressure to go along with what you decided to do when you were younger. If you don’t change your mind when you wanted to, you will be a person who is living with a changed mind and perpetuating a life you didn’t want. It was really hard to explain, and still somehow always requires an explanation - I “changed” fields, why? Because it’s okay to change your mind and move forward.
WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW?
I read a lot. I’m currently reading Into the Grey Zone. If you ever want a science related book, I’m your girl! From readable with no science background required to the very complex; I love reading non-fiction.
WHAT DID YOU LEARN TODAY?
There are ~500 quadrillion atoms in a single speck of dust visible to humans. (I also study air as well as water).
4 comments
I remember walking through the UN with you in NY and knowing you would grow up to do great things!!
Thank you for sharing. You are brilliant, beautiful and an inspiring role model for young women!
You are magical like a unicorn!
You are an inspiration, young lady. Never stop being you….