When you think of celebrity endorsements, you probably think of an actor or actress touting their favorite perfume, clothing brand or soft drink. For Mayim Bialik, she took a slightly different route by becoming a brand ambassador and spokeswoman for Texas Instruments, the brand responsible for making different varieties of calculators.
Why is she so passionate about calculators? “We have technology at a very young age now that teaches what it’s like to be a scientist,” she says. “You don’t have to wait to get to high school to get into [science] later like I did.” Last year, Bialik took her passion for calculators to TI's Annual T3™ International Conference in Chicago where she and educators from around the country learned to use technology in ways that can improve student learning in the areas of math and science.
While starting out as an actress on the 1990s television show “Blossom,” Bialik eventually became interested in science. She has since gone on to study at UCLA and earned a doctorate degree in neuroscience. Bialik has also become an advocate for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers in particular, encouraging girls to get involved in these fields. She says, “There’s this general notion that these [STEM careers] are boy fields and girls think ‘I can’t do this.’” However, she stresses this is not necessarily the case.
Since earning her degree, Bialik has returned to acting and has a reccurring role on the television show, “The Big Bang Theory.” Her character, a neurobiologist named Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler, is rather similar to her real-life persona, but Bialik says she was drawn to the show because it “shows a side of scientists that is real…they deal with their quirks and neuroses. They are functioning as normal human beings who are successful.”
It is Bialik’s hope that the United States makes science, technology, engineering and math education a priority. “Being a scientist is a wonderful and creative way to live your life,” she encourages, “It’s a creative life and opens up tremendous opportunities.”
Interview with Mayim Bialik provided by TakePart.com.
(Photo: CBS via Getty Images)
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