Meet Our New Youth STEM Matters Editor-In-Chief, Yara Obeidi!

Hello! My name is Yara Obeidi and I’m the newly appointed Editor-in-Chief of Youth STEM Matters. I’m an 18 years old student from Canada and I’m elated and grateful to be working with so many talented young people and encouraging them to discover how STEM can develop the world we want to live in! I love finding the intersection between the quantitative and qualitative, which is why social sciences appeal to me and what I will most likely be studying this fall at university (I got in!).

Last year I graduated from high school and finished the IB Program, so right now I’m on a gap year. Looking back to my time in school, my favourite parts were all the in-class discussions with my classmates, which helped me to communicate clearly and form well-developed arguments, which are essential skills for effective science communication at Youth STEM Matters. I also loved my Theory of Knowledge class, where I learned about Indigenous Knowledge Systems and societies—some of the most sophisticated societies in the world. I was fascinated with how different societies discover truth and how their unique ways of navigating the world. That’s the reason I’m most passionate about now being the Editor-in-Chief of Youth STEM Matters; I get to see how youth from all over the world navigate knowledge and I can help get their voices heard.

After graduating, I decided to take a gap year after realising that I wasn’t totally sure what I wanted to study or what I wanted to get out of university. I love all things psychology, anthropology, and math and anything else I can wrap my head around, so the choice was very difficult!

Fortunately, my gap year led me to Youth STEM 2030. I first got involved by being an Ambassador for the Youth STEM Summit and then as a Summit Facilitator for the Social Action Stream. Part of the reason I wanted to join was because I was so inspired by Mhairi McCann, the founder of Youth STEM 2030, everything she has accomplished so far and her ambition for the future of the organisation. Another part of it was because I care about what the world will look like and how it will affect us in the future, a thought that the young people at Youth STEM 2030 share, too.

Before becoming the Editor-in-Chief, I was a Youth Engagement Advisor for a Canadian non-profit. There, I hosted an event for the Federal Agency’s International Development Week on Indigenous Affairs. Part of that event included a panel discussion with Indigenous people from the Hopi tribe in Arizona, USA and the Unama’ki Nation in Nova Scotia, Canada, where I learned about their opinions on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and their respective theologies. For example, I learned about the Mi’kmaw way of sustainable living, called Netukulimk, and how the Hopi are able to grow all sorts of crops in the desert without any water, machinery, or fertilisers. Hearing these perspectives was not only incredibly fascinating, but also amazing how young people all over the world have bounds of insight to share—and much to discover. This experience was informative to me in becoming Editor-in-Chief, and I hope that I can encourage others in the same way to become their very best through Youth STEM Matters.

As Editor-in-Chief, if I can encourage other youth to feel that their voices matter, then I would consider my time at Youth STEM Matters a success. My vision for the journal is truly to pioneer a global platform—innovating on a traditional journal—that facilitates the voices, curiosity, and education of youth around the world. The two massive targets I have in mind are increasing submissions and decreasing the publishing time for an article, and I’m going to need all the help I can get! I want to grow our impact and engagement on every front—with authorship, readership, and our team, and I think in order to do that, we have to focus on our long-term sustainability. I’m really looking forward to going on this journey with all of you, and I am grateful for and thrilled with the team coming along with me.

Thanks to everyone who gave me a warm welcome as I go into such an exciting (and challenging) role!