Mentor Spotlight: How Maria Is Shaping the Next Generation of Scientists

When Maria Monberg steps into a Science Club, she carries with her not just a PhD in translational cancer biology, but a lifetime of lived experience shaped by early STEM exposure, a deeply supportive family, and an unwavering belief that science belongs to everyone. Today, she works with oncology data in Cambridge, helping interpret clinical data for cancer patients day in and day out – work she loves and feels fortunate to do. But what fuels her commitment to mentoring girls is something far more personal.

Dr. Regina Robinson, Special Assistant to the Commissioner of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education talking to Mentor Maria Monberg during her visit to our Science Clubs last Fall.

Maria grew up immersed in science. Her mother, an organic chemist and longtime professor, took her to the lab before she was even a year old. “I basically grew up hanging out in chemistry labs,” she said. “I never knew or really wanted to be anything but a scientist.” Her childhood kitchen was often transformed into a hands-on science classroom, with homemade experiments, microscopes, and demonstrations of “how basic explosions work.” That early exposure didn’t just teach her scientific concepts, it taught her how to think, how to explore, how to stay curious.

But as a Mentor, Maria understands that many girls do not come in with that foundation. Some recoil at the phrase “we’re going to think about this problem today.” Others respond with immediate negativity because scientific experimentation feels unfamiliar or intimidating. Seeing that gap became a pivotal moment for her. “It’s fun for me to figure out ways to communicate that make it make sense,” she said. “I want them to be comfortable thinking like scientists – being adaptive, creative, open.”

Creating a Space Where Every Voice Belongs

Maria’s conviction is simple but powerful: science should be democratizing. “There’s nothing more dedicated to free communication and open expression than a scientific framework,” she said. “Whoever you are, you deserve to engage with that.”

Her role as a Mentor reflects this ethos. She encourages discussion. She creates space for shy students. She gently redirects those who get stuck. She is building the type of nurturing environment she herself was lucky to grow up in – one where girls feel heard, valued, and capable.

That sense of belonging becomes especially important as girls get older. Maria knows the research: around middle school, girls’ confidence in STEM often drops, even when their performance doesn’t. While she didn’t personally experience that because of her supportive learning environment, she sees the effects in today’s classrooms. “It breaks my heart to know so many little girls don’t get that same experience,” she shared. “They deserve to.”

Watching Curiosity Come Alive

One of Maria’s favorite memories as a Mentor comes from a biomedical engineering lesson on prosthetics. The girls, then in second and third grade, were handed bags of miscellaneous materials (tubes, sponges, tape) and told to invent a functional prosthetic limb. What happened next was magic.

“They just went for it,” she said. One girl repurposed a paper towel tube as an arm. Another tried to engineer a cushioned prosthetic foot using sponges. They tested, failed, adjusted, tried again. “Every single girl came up with something unique… they were excited, they learned, and they all took their prosthetics home to show their parents.”

For Maria, those moments are the heartbeat of the program. “If I get to make at least a dent in the education of these girls, that’s a great accomplishment,” she reflected.

Why She Keeps Coming Back

Maria first learned about Science Club for Girls while working at Merck, where she volunteered to help pack supply bags. Someone mentioned they were recruiting mentors. She didn’t hesitate. “I’d love to,” she said, and three years later, she’s still here.

What keeps her coming back is the energy in the room, especially as she works now with older students. “They are super active. They learn quickly. They want to move on to the next thing,” she said. “They’re very engaging.”

But deeper than that, she stays because she sees a future full of possibility. A future where these girls, confident, curious, and supported, grow into scientists, leaders, engineers, problem-solvers. A future where they, too, feel they were “born into it,” because someone created the space for them to discover who they could be.