UNIVERSITY SQUARE — Talmesha Richards grew up creating structures with Legos and K'nex building sets, thinking she would be an architect.

But all that changed in third grade, when a teacher showed her a "trick" that made it easier to compute math problems.

Richards – who until then had disliked arithmetic – became hooked on numbers.

"She taught me that math can be fun," Richards said.

Today, Richards holds a doctoral degree in cellular and molecular medicine from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and is the chief academic and diversity officer for STEMconnector and Million Women Mentors.

Million Women Mentors, also based in the District, is a nonprofit that advocates for more women and girls in STEM through mentoring. STEMconnector is a Washington, D.C.-based consortium of institutions that offer STEM resources and best practices.

Steve Scully, creator of the math game TiVitZ and a fellow member of STEMconnector, helped arrange for Richards to recently visit Witter Elementary School and speak about STEM careers.

A Baltimore native, Richards said both her parents were engaged in her education and pushed her to embrace her interests and block out naysayers.

She now tries to do the same for students who may not have the support of their parents or teachers to take STEM-related classes and explore STEM careers.

Dressed in black riding pants and black boots with rhinestone laces, Richards — a former professional cheerleader — challenged students to consider that scientists and engineers can be men and women and come from all backgrounds.

"I'm here to let you know you don't have to look a certain way to be a STEM professional," she said.

Richards, who cheered for the NFL's Baltimore Ravens and Washington Redskins, said while she focused on STEM in school, she found a creative outlet through dance.

Richard said it was easy for her to find time to pursue her interests in both STEM and the arts because they require the same things: hard work, dedication, and collaboration.

So if you love both the arts and science, know that it's okay to do them both, she said.

"Sometimes people try to skew you one way or another," she said. "But there are ways to combine those passions."

STEM-related occupations are among the fastest-growing in the United States, but women and minorities remain underrepresented because too few in these groups are pursuing degrees in STEM-related areas, according to a 2013 report by the National Science Foundation.

Recently, STEM has become a popular part of public discourse thanks to the release of the movie Hidden Figures, which is based on the story of three African-American women NASA mathematicians whose calculations helped astronaut John Glenn become the first American to orbit Earth.

Fifth grader Taniya Glenn, 11, loves math but the future attorney isn't interested in a STEM career.

Still, Richards's message was inspiring, she said.

"She seems like she's very smart," she said.

Larry Plank, director of Hillsborough County Public Schools' K-12 STEM Education program, said Richards's visit complements the district's efforts to get students interested in STEM.

Initiatives include providing parents and attractions like the Museum of Science and Industry, the Florida Aquarium, and Lowry Park Zoo with resources and information so that students are learning about STEM outside of school.

In the classroom, students engaged in engineering and design challenges learn how math and science apply in STEM careers, he said.

"It's as early as kindergarten when students are learning about all the STEM careers in Tampa Bay," he said. "It's a shift in thinking, to help kids learn all day."

Contact Kenya Woodard at hillsnews@tampabay.com.