Student speaks at HeForShe event in NYC alongside Emma Watson

Anya Forestell has long admired British actress Emma Watson and this week the Waterloo physics and astronomy student will be speaking at a HeForShe event in New York City attended by the UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador.

Forestell, recipient of a Waterloo HeForShe scholarship, will share her experience of being a woman in STEM at the second anniversary celebration of the UN Women’s HeForShe movement for gender equity.

“Emma Watson has always been a role model for me,” said Forestell. “Everything she does is genuine and strong. She’s fearless and I admire her very much.”

Forestell will speak at the Museum of Modern Art event on Sept. 20. The event will be attended by Watson along with global leaders such as Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan.

Waterloo to report on gender equity commitments at UN

On the same day, Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo, will attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York City to report on the gender equality commitments the University of Waterloo has undertaken as part of the HeForShe IMPACT10x10x10 initiative.

President Hamdullahpur accepted an invitation to participate in the HeForShe IMPACT 10x10x10 framework in 2015. One of Waterloo’s gender equity commitments include boosting female participation in STEM experiences and academic careers. Forestell is one of twelve Waterloo STEM students who have been awarded HeForShe scholarships.

Forestell, who attended a very small high school that had equal numbers of boys and girls in math and science classes, says attending university has given her a much broader perspective on gender issues in STEM disciplines.

“When you look up and you are the only woman in a room of 30 men, it changes your outlook,” said Forestell. “It’s a reminder that not all young women had the same experience I had. There are women, and the numbers are growing, but university is a very different environment from my high school.”

Scholarship inspires physics student to support other young women

Forestell said the HeForShe scholarship has inspired her to get involved with Waterloo’s FemPhys group, an extracurricular group that supports women in physics. Her advice to young women who want to study in the STEM fields is to persist no matter the obstacles and find a good community that will support you through the ups and downs.

“I know physics is my passion. I know that Waterloo is the right university for me and nothing else matters,” said Forestell. “It doesn’t matter if I’m a man or a woman. I’m exactly where I need to be”