Back when school was online in 2020 a group of middle school girls got together on Zoom and started thinking about something out of this world: how to grow food on Mars. The plan they developed won a national contest - the American Student Assistance “Solve Together” contest - and now they’re known around the hallways at Plouffe Academy in Brockton, Massachusetts as ‘The Galactic Girls.” Working mostly remotely in the pandemic, it took ingenuity to carry out their project - like graham cracker crumbs and a hair dryer to represent Mars problematic dust storms. But getting to stellar success came with the help of mentors, including their guidance counselor John MacDonald who recommended the contest and kept them on track and in March 2021 linked them to former director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center Todd May. In his discussion with the “Galactic Girls,” May answered the girls’ questions and helped them with their project, but he also encouraged them to see their own potential, calling them the “leaders of the next generation.” Mentors are seen as key to getting more girls interested in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Census data shows nearly half of the U.S. workforce is now women, but only 27% work in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) workforce. In Massachusetts, where STEM is now the most rapidly growing field, and outside of healthcare, women make up only 29% of that workforce. May said the need for mentors is now urgent because there’s a global “war” for STEM talent. “It's a matter of necessity at this point. You know, we need female engineers, we need female scientists, we need female astronauts because you know, the demand for those jobs is as high as it's ever been,” said May. State data also shows STEM-related jobs boost incomes: on average, those jobs pay 30 thousand dollars more than the average annual pay across all industries in the state. “This is a way to lift up families and communities. These are good paying jobs. And so, you know, why not tap into the talent?” said Lily Mendez, CEO of Mass Mentoring Partnership. Mendez said expanding the “pipeline” for women to get into STEM fields requires more mentoring through companies and more resources for mentors. And those who are mentored often become mentors themselves. Eloisa Salcedo, 17 is a mentor with the Cambridge-based “Science Club for Girls” and was once herself a student in the program. "What I liked about what the mentors did with the science part was making it really fun,” Salcedo said, “And they were cool and they did science….And they just kind of embodied this person that I kind of wanted to be when I was older.”Salcedo said she’s heading for college with scholarship money to study either engineering or computer science. Back at Plouffe Academy in Brockton, “Galactic Girl” team member Gabriella Rodriguez pondered the impact of her experience. “It opened so many doors for a lot of us, in this group. It's helped pave ways to career paths that a lot of us didn't think we could actually do,” said Gabriella Rodriguez, a “Galactic Girls” team member, “So I would hope that we could inspire some young girls out there." Guidance counselor MacDonald said the girls worked hard and are now mentors for others.