With Dean Joanna Mott standing in the middle, six woman honored as Outstanding Students from the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics display material attesting to their achievements. From left: Heather Fletcher, April Loyd, Jillian Robinson, Mott, Amber Ginorio-Dean, Erika Ornouski, and Ashley Fagundes. (Sacramento State)

At the beginning of a ceremony honoring this year’s top graduating students in Sacramento State's College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Dean Joanna Mott paused to note an unprecedented development.

For the first time, all six Outstanding Student selections were women.

“This was not planned nor foreseen, and is simply astonishing for a STEM-based college,” said Mott. It demonstrates, she said, that efforts to encourage girls to study science, technology, engineering and math in California and across the country are bearing fruit.

Annually for the past decade, Natural Sciences and Mathematics (NSM) administration has asked all department heads to select their top students, who then are honored during the Dean’s Award ceremony. Before 2019, each year one or more of students honored were men.

Girls and women have long been underrepresented in STEM disciplines, figures show. A recent study found that girls often become intrigued by STEM near age 11, but that their interest wanes by 15. Only about 30 percent of STEM degree holders were women as of 2017.

In recent years, various initiatives, scholarships, conferences and other programs have been launched to encourage girls to pursue STEM studies.

The clean sweep by this year’s NSM Outstanding Student honorees suggests those efforts are paying off.

The 2019 honorees are Jillian Robinson from the Physics & Astronomy Department; Ashley Fagundes, Chemistry; Amber Ginorio-Dean, Geology; Erika Ornouski, Geography; April Loyd, Mathematics & Statistics; and Heather Fletcher, Biological Sciences.

In letters recommending the students, Sac State professors looked beyond their stellar academic records. Each woman demonstrated an ability to persevere through difficult curriculum while engaging in campus and community volunteer work. Some overcame personal obstacles.

Physics Professor Vera Margoniner called Robinson “one of the most accomplished students in the history of our department,” who has earned several prestigious department awards and is a member of the Sigma Pi Sigma physics honor society. She is president of the Society of Physics Students, works in the physics stockroom, and volunteers as a tutor.

She will finish her degree in four years despite struggling with bouts of depression and anxiety.

In high school, Robinson said, some other students, particularly boys, discouraged her from studying science.

“I wanted to do it not just for myself, but to prove other people wrong,” she said.

In college, she dived into physics and found her textbooks to be exciting “rule books to the universe,” she said. Robinson plans to pursue a master’s of education at Sac State, with a goal of teaching high school physics and inspiring more girls to pursue STEM.

Fagundes first became interested in science while racing quarter midget cars as a child in the Bay Area. “I wanted to know about the physics, the angles, the mechanics, the aerodynamics,” she said.

Chemistry Department Chair Roy Dixon said Fagundes “exemplifies the best qualities of our student population” at Sac State. She has been on the Dean’s Honor List every semester, has done excellent research work, performed various duties with the marching band, and is actively engaged in the campus community as a President’s Ambassador.

Fagundes completed her studies despite the unexpected loss of her mother to illness during her second semester in college. “My mom was my best friend,” she said. “I had every right to leave school after she passed away, but I didn’t.”

Her next stop is UC Davis, where she intends to pursue a doctoral degree in analytical chemistry.

Ginorio-Dean was born into difficult circumstances, Geology Chair Kevin Cornwell said in his letter about her. She suffered abuse and neglect as a child, and spent time in the foster care system. She had a baby at 17 and dropped out of high school, but later earned her GED and entered community college.

Now, she is a mother and grandmother who has a perfect 4.0 GPA at Sac State. After graduation, she plans to work full time for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“There were so many times that Amber could have quit working so hard and accepted her life as it was, but she was determined not to let her circumstances define her,” said Cornwell.

“Her stellar record speaks for itself, but it doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of how she has chosen to define herself as a geologist and a person.”

Ornouski came to the Geography Department in fall 2017 and has “proven to be far and away the best student to go through our program in years,” said Chair Thomas Krabacher. She has a nearly perfect GPA, and enriches classroom sessions with her discussions and insights, Krabacher said.

“She’s probably the most seriously engaged geographer to come through our program in the past decade,” Krabacher said.

Ornouski is older than most of her Sac State classmates. Family hardships forced her to leave college 25 years ago, but she never gave up hope of earning a degree and intends to study climate science or marine science in graduate school.

Fletcher’s work ethic, positive attitude, and academic prowess make her a role model for other students, said biology Professor Kelly McDonald.

Fletcher is a first-generation transfer student who worked three jobs during her first two semesters at Sac State. She is a family stalwart, McDonald wrote. Fletcher plans to continue her education at Sac State, pursuing a master’s in biological sciences and eventually teaching at the community college level.

“She had no idea how to navigate the university system when she came to Sac State,” wrote McDonald, “and she wants to help ease that transition for future community college students.”

Loyd originally wanted to teach K-12 mathematics, but now is on a path toward a career as an academic mathematician, her professors wrote.

Despite “significant hardships” including a bout with cancer, her future is bright and promising, her professors said. She enthusiastically helps other students and has excelled in research.

“In fact, the whole department will feel April’s void” when she leaves Sac State, her professors wrote to Dean Mott. Loyd plans to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of Nebraska beginning in the fall.

President Robert S. Nelsen praised each of the students, as well as their professors and other mentors.

“I commend the faculty and the programs that are encouraging, supporting and developing our female students into STEM professionals,” he said.

The honored students said they are proud to represent the strides that women have made in STEM and are confident that women will continue to make a significant mark.

“I think it’s amazing that all six of us are women,” Robinson said. “When we all stood up together for a picture, it was such an inspiring moment. To see all of these amazing women scientists being honored, it almost brought a tear to my eye.” – Cynthia Hubert