About the Founder
“When a young girl in STEM is asked who her female role model is, I want her to be at a loss for words. Not because she doesn’t know one, but because she has so many to choose from that picking just one is impossible.”
— Calliope Speredakos, Founder & EIC
Meet Calliope Speredakos, a passionate advocate for girls in STEM and the founder of Girls’ STEMpede. Learn about her own experience as a girl in STEM and her motives for starting this initiative.
Calliope Speredakos is a naturally curious 18-year-old with a lifelong love of discovery. From the exotic, such as searching for ancient fossils in remote riverbeds, to more altruistic activities like finding effective ways to help underserved communities, Calliope’s passion for discovery continues to shape not only the person she is today but the person she hopes to become.
As a child, Calliope loved digging up rocks and stones in Central Park. In summer, beaches were for finding shark teeth and unique pieces of sea glass, hobbies she still pursues with relentless focus. Her love of discovery eventually led her to embark on fossil-hunting expeditions up and down the east coast, in places like New Jersey, Florida, and even Nova Scotia.
Always searching for an intact megalodon tooth or a Paleo-Indian spearpoint, these adventures fueled Calliope’s love of paleontology, evolutionary biology, and archaeology. It became apparent to Calliope early on that she was almost always the only girl on these paleontological digs.
This observation inspired her to help change the trajectory of women in STEM. As a result, Calliope created a website that celebrates the importance of role models in further engaging girls in STEM. Her mission at Girls’ STEMpede is to provide a platform for women to share their early STEM experiences and the spark that ignited their passion with like-minded girls and young women. The goal is to overcome stereotypical barriers and increase a sense of belonging among girls who are passionate about STEM.
Calliope searching for fossils in New Jersey’s “Big Brook”