The Princess goes to California Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo. It is a Cal State school (yay – not expensive for us in-state peeps!), however it also has a deserved reputation for being difficult to get accepted. It is something of a prestigious Ag/Architecture/Engineering school. There are now three Cal Polys in the state, with the other two being in Pomona and Humbolt. I don’t know the level of difficulty there is for getting accepted to Pomona or Humbolt, I only know our experience with SLO. It is a different kind of experience to go to Cal Poly. Students really have to know what they really want to study – it is extremely difficult to change majors once you’re there, particularly if you want to switch “school” ie from Ag to Engineering, or a Liberal Arts field to Ag. These kids are brilliant at what they do, and have to be decisive at 18 when applying. But I am yet again off topic. Suffice it to say, Cal Poly SLO is a school full of incredibly smart, incredibly focused, incredibly talented students.

Here is what I’ve noticed from the minute the Princess was accepted to CP SLO and clicked the “Commit” button…every time – and I mean EVERY SINGLE TIME – I tell anyone she goes to Cal Poly, the person assumes, and asks, “Pomona?” as if there is no way a girl, much less my girl, could get into or attend Cal Poly SLO. Honestly, it’s infuriating. She’s wicked smart, and she works her ass off. She earned that admittance, has earned four quarters on the Dean’s List which puts her on the President’s List. She has her major and two minors, dances with the Orchesis Dance Company on campus, writes for the Mustang Media Group, and continues to have a strong social life. Oh, she also works. Most of the kids at Cal Poly do the same, have the same level of intensity to their experience.

As the mom of a daughter, I am offended by the bias a girl shouldn’t/can’t go to a polytechnic school, much less one with a prestigious reputation. Her friends are some of the sweetest, most-engaging, fun girls, who also happen to kick ass at math, science, engineering, marine science, aerospace. GIRLS are doing these things, often with more ease than their male counterparts. So when someone responds to me with, “Pomona?” when I say she goes to Cal Poly, I lose my ish. Why do we still, as a society, consciously or subconsciously assume a girl can’t be successful in STEM? Can’t be “smart” enough to get into a STEM school?

Earlier in P’s college career, she actually did a paper on females in the engineering school on campus. I had the opportunity to read that paper and was stunned. The bias these young women come up against is ridiculous, given we live in the 21st century where we actually have female world leaders. How far we have come, but how far we have yet to go? It is mind-boggling, to say the least.

P will graduate well before this issue resolves. I’m sure for years after she graduates, when I tell people where she graduated from, they’re still going to ask, “Pomona?” No, you tool, my daughter, as well as many other young women, is quite brilliant and if she’s good enough for Cal Poly SLO to accept, then you should too, and these women should be acknowledged and honored for their incredible minds, strong work ethics, and just basic badass female abilities.