The Founder of Girls in Science and Technology (GIST), Ohemaa Adjei Andoh has been honoured for her selfless dedication towards community development.

The Award was presented to her at the just ended Ghana Outstanding Women’s Award (GOWA) 2020 held in Accra.

The Ghana Outstanding Women's Award is a humanitarian initiative introduced to honour women promoting societal change.

GIST is a foundation that champions careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)for girls.

Madam Adjei Andoh in an interview, said she founded the organization on the premise that girls could also take up careers in STEM, and should not limit themselves to medical science.

She said GIST was to among others demystify the glass ceiling right at the junior level so that girls would grow to become fearless and take up roles in STEM, dominated by men.

She revealed that GIST's initiative included; the "#5000womeninSTEMGhana" where they aspired to outdoor 5000 women in Ghana with careers in STEM.

The project she explained, was to serve as a representation that would guide young girls and also promote networking.

She disclosed that early this year GIST celebrated International Women’s Day with 60 young girls in Takoradi, and stressed that though the foundation was based in Takoradi, its activities were not limited to the Western Region.

Madam Andoh mentioned that GIST had a YouTube channel, where they show case GIST activities which, give girls the opportunity to connect with women in STEM like Lucy Quist, Dr Elsie Kauffman, Ama Better and Dr. Vanessa Mensah- Kabu.

Madam Andoh studied science at Achimota Senior High School and pursued Bsc Geological Engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

Whiles in school, her distinctive leadership skills were shaped when she took up the role as President of the Women in Engineering club and was awarded the best female in her graduating class.

After graduating from University, she joined the oil and gas industry and worked as a Cementing and stimulating Engineer on offshore operations for close to six years.

These experiences according to her, influenced her to create a solution to the few representation of women in STEM, hence the formation of GIST in 2018.

Madam Andoh believed that "one could become what they see and hence the need to promote visibility of representation, which she seeks to achieve through her foundation".

"Successfully managing her roles as a wife , a mother of two children and a social worker, she advised young ladies to stay focused and trust in the process because hard work pays, stressing don't dim your light just to make others comfortable, aim high and trust God to direct you".

She is currently pursuing an MSC in STEM Education at Walden University.