I first discovered my love for space and passion for science, technology, engineering, and math on a Girl Scouts camping trip. Years later, when I was told “girls like me” didn’t go to college, I remembered the strength, confidence, and resilience I learned from my time as a Girl Scout. In fact, I did go to college — I studied engineering and then worked at NASA, as well as IBM, Apple, and Dell. Girl Scouts helped make my future possible. It offered support and encouragement, and once I had that, I never looked back.

I want that for more girls, because if there’s one thing I’ve learned as an adult and as a Girl Scout, it’s that with the right encouragement, girls are capable of anything. I became an engineer because my Girl Scouts family believed in me and told me I could. We will need more girls to tap into their STEM potential to be leaders in the world and the economy of tomorrow.

That’s why, last month, we announced the Girl Scout STEM Pledge, challenging CEOs across the country to join us in growing the number of girls in the STEM pipeline by 2.5 million by 2025.

Read the full article about how the Girl Scouts are all in on STEM education by Sylvia Acevedo at The 74.