Emily Percival-Paterson

She/Her

I am queer and a biologist by training who teaches STEM in the arctic!//

I work for a company called Actua flying around and teaching STEM across the Canadian Arctic, and I absolutely love it (although I do still hope to get into med one day). Being out in extremely remote communities is interesting, but I think it’s important for children to see confident queer people excelling in STEM – especially if I’m the first out queer person they’ve ever met! Teaching STEM wasn’t what I originally intended to do with my degree, but it is the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done and I’ve come to see teaching as my form of activism. Working for a national STEM organization also allows me to create gender equity protocols that will reach hundreds of thousands of youth, which is amazing. Science is a powerful tool that isn’t offered to all equally, and by working hard to create STEM opportunities that are intersectional and targeted for those who have previously been excluded is meaningful work. Plus there’s a ton of cute puppies up north!

Instagram @percypaters