There is nothing quite like the buzz and excitement of a graduation day. Earlier this year, we were delighted to help celebrate the graduation of the third cohort of Mulberry STEM Academy students.
A key pillar of our Accelerate 25 initiative to increase diversity in motorsport and introduce more young people into STEM, the Mulberry STEM Academy is a Saturday/extra-curricular provision to provide a place of learning, inspiration, and innovation for its students.
To mark International Women’s Day, we caught up with two of the latest graduates, Sara and Fahmida, who explain how our relationship with Mulberry has strengthened their career prospects as they look to forge a path in motorsport.
Sara (Mulberry Stepney Green): The Mulberry STEM Academy has helped me prove to myself and others that people from different backgrounds and my ethnic minority are able to break down barriers, which five years ago didn’t seem possible. In the future it would be a very cool thing to see people like myself in places like Brackley and other Formula One teams, working in the world of STEM.
Fahmida (Mulberry School for Girls): When I see the younger students at school they come up to me ask what I have done and I love explaining it to them. It is really cool to see them enjoying hearing those stories too. As well as inspiring me, it’s helping to inspire the younger students in my school.
Sara: There are quite a few. The two that probably stand out are meeting Lewis at Mulberry School for Girls and having time to speak with him about what I did at Brackley during my work experience. I had to analyse his lap time on track against that of the simulator. I found my time at Brackley very welcoming. It was a very healthy environment, and you can see why the team has had so much success over the last decade.
Fahmida: For me personally, my favourite moment was the work experience. Actually seeing what working at Mercedes is like was really inspirational, seeing everyone worked together as a team. I definitely took that with me back to school and the STEM Academy.
The biggest thing I have gained is my confidence skills. The STEM Academy has brought that out of me.
Fahmida
Sara: The biggest area I have been able to improve in is my teamwork. I feel like I have learned how to be an effective part of a team, knowing when to push everyone, when to delegate, and when to know what type of team is required if something needs fixing.
Fahmida: For me the biggest thing I have gained is my confidence skills. It is something that I just did not get from a normal classroom environment, and the STEM academy has brought that out of me.
Sara: I am hoping to study Mechanical Engineering at university, and hopefully from there get into motorsport and maybe even come back to Mercedes.
Fahmida: I am hoping to go to university to study Computer Science. I’m hoping that having the STEM Academy on my application could give me a real edge.
We wish all of the 2024 Mulberry graduates all of the best in their future endeavours and look forward to seeing as many as possible in the motorsport world in the years to come.