One of the most interesting things I heard while I was at NACAC was that you don't have to be an A student to be an engineer. That may not surprise some of you, but since I'm not a math person, I just assumed you had to be really, really strong in math to go down that path.
Now, it would be disingenuious to suggest that you don't have to like math or have at least somewhat a head for it, but there's so much more to the STEM fields than that. Engineers, computer scientists, etc. don't just sit in a cubicle all day by themselves. They collaborate with many groups of people, and they are some of the most creative people in the workplace (this is where the arts - STEAM- comes into play). One engineer I spoke with said she was looking for students who could create and organize a project, one who could harness the support of her classmates to accomplish the project. So you can be a really good mathmetician but perhaps not such a good engineer.
STEM fields go far beyond the math-science paradigm. These days there are so many more paths to follow: computational math, packaging science, media arts and technology, game design, computing security, ceramics engineering - and that is only the tip of the iceberg. Science, technology, engineering and math are much more interdisiplinary that some people think (frankly many careers are). Having a good grasp of history and the arts and music and psychology and political science, and many other subjects can actually make you a better engineer or doctor or teacher or businesswoman or college counselor...even if you're not a straight A math girl.
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