I'm Yvette Rito, a student at Truman High School in Independence, Missouri. I like swimming, reading and robotics. Robotics lets me pursue my passion for tech and computer science.

My sister really got me interested in STEM. She would come back from college and tell my family about what she was learning. No matter how hard the concepts she learned, she spoke about STEM in an exciting way.

I remember going to see my sister at Kansas State University for open house. My parents took me to all the different colleges. At the end of the day I was more interested in tech and computer science. This field stood out over the rest.

STEM is not a common field for girls. Whenever you see all of the marketing promoting these fields, one doesn’t see girls as much as boys. Many of my classes have a large number of boys. Sometimes it can be intimidating. I think girls should try classes in STEM. Even if you have doubts you’ll be glad later when you know you gave it a shot.

Sometimes there are problems you have to work through and it can seem frustrating in the moment but it’s very rewarding at the end with the finished product. That's what I love most. When I finish a project and then being able to see it work, knowing that I put effort into it and that with my part it was able to function.