The Saint Louis chapter of INTEGIRLS is hosting a math competition on Dec. 4. 

INTEGIRLS is a teen-led nonprofit that hosts math competitions for girls and non-binary middle and high school students. There are currently 16 chapters in five different countries across the world. Junior Nicole Li is one of the heads of the Saint Louis chapter. 

“I first saw INTEGIRLS from another girls math competition but then didn’t start the chapter myself,” Li said. “Fiona Wu and Maggie Lin, the previous coheads, reached out to me later to join the STL chapter.”

Junior Erica Shi is also a part of the executive team. To prepare for the upcoming event, the team meets monthly and discusses tasks they need to complete.

“In the last meeting, we worked out the code that sends participants a reminder email after they sign up,” Shi said. “We also talked about the formatting for flyers and recruitment posts.”

One of their biggest challenges is finding volunteers to help the event run smoothly. With the event being virtual, every competing team will have their own break out room with a volunteer. 

“We’ve tried contacting previous volunteers to gauge their interest,” Shi said. “We are also working on asking NHS members whether or not they would be interested in volunteering.”

Overall, the team is excited to host another event. After having success with their previous fall 2020 and spring 2021 competitions, they’ve seen how their work has helped increase female and nonbinary representation in STEM. 

“Hopefully, we get more girls interested in math and later STEM,” Li said. “It’s a bit sad to go to contests and only see guys.”