“Others may see someone eating a cookie — I see the start of a protein kinase cascade reaction”

This paper shares the authors´ experiences in Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics (STEM) from our respective vantage points as student, educator, researcher, and industry professional. We share a passion for STEM subject matter, and a desire to encourage others to explore it as a way of enriching one´s life and society as a whole. In this paper, we explore influences that hinder and promote interest in STEM, and resulting implications on what is needed to engage and retain students´ life-long interest. The importance of soft skills in developing STEM proficiency is also discussed.