Folsom students heading to Capitol Hill to lobby Congress for more STEM funding, equity

When Evelyn Ma was younger, she wanted to be a tree when she grew up.

Now, as an eighth-grader, she will visit Washington, D.C., in June to discuss with members of Congress how to get more STEM education funding to underserved communities.

Ma is a member of Metal Maniacs, a nonprofit organization founded in late 2021 by Folsom’s Tabitha Wong and Melanie Miner, both women in a field that performs poorly when it comes to gender equity.

Women make up 28% of the workforce in science, technology, engineering and math, and men outnumber women in most STEM fields in college, according to the American Association of University Women.

“We actually have connections with the local Legislature here out in Sacramento County,” Wong said. “They will be talking to a local lobbyist (about) how do you engage? How do you make change happen in government? We start now. These AP students, they have ideas. They want to go ahead to help.”

Wong graduated from UC Davis with a bachelor’s in computer science and later obtained a master’s in business from Sacramento State. She is a chief of staff at Walmart Global Tech and was previously chief of staff at Intel.

Miner also graduated from Davis with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology, and she manages lab operations at Ginkgo Bioworks.

Metal Maniacs is made up of 10 eighth-graders on the student leadership team that are considered mentors. Additionally, they compete in the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology’s tech challenge, which is part of a global robotics community.

This season, they were awarded the Control Award at the regional qualifiers for incorporating multiple sensors like artificial intelligence webcam, color sensor, touch sensor and navigation, according to Wong.

“(Metal Maniacs) are the young people that are involved in doing the outreach and promoting the stem,” Miner said. “They’re part of the overserved community as far as STEM outreach.”

Wong said it partners with other community improvement organizations such as the Sacramento and India-oriented Suvidha International Foundation, a team in Ghana, the Sacramento County Office of Education and the Museum of Science and Curiosity.