American Association of University Women holds free Tech Savvy Conference for CT Girls in grades 6-9
By HAN Network on February 18, 2016
Are you a sixth to ninth grade girl who wants to lean more about careers in science, technology, math and engineering? Are you a parent or educator who wants to encourage girls to realize their potential in these fields?
On Saturday, Feb. 27, the American Association of University Women’s Connecticut Chapter (AAUW CT) will host its third annual Tech Savvy Conference from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Trinity College, 300 Summit Street in Hartford. Girls, their parents and teachers may register for the event online at: aauw-ct.aauw.net.
The daylong Tech Savvy event will welcome sixth to ninth-grade girls, their parents, guardians and teachers. Successful women professionals will offer firsthand information on how science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields can lead to exciting careers. During the one-day program, adults will receive information on how to help girls get on a path to a college education and a career in STEM.
The event will include more than a dozen hands-on workshops and presentations led by female leaders in STEM professions, including Make Your Own Android App, Math Mastermind Workshop, Robotics for You!, 3D Design and Printing, Medical Devices and the creation of motorized toys from recycled materials.
A College and Career Corner will offer girls and their parents the opportunity to discuss STEM curriculum offered at regional colleges and companies. Adult workshops and panel discussions, including sessions such as Raising a Math Confident Daughter, will provide parents, guardians and teachers the tools to encourage girls’ exploration of STEM careers.
Trinity College President and Professor of Neuroscience Joanne Berger-Sweeney will welcome TechSavvy participants and provide opening remarks. Melissa Blake, DMD, a pediatric dental resident at the Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine and recent graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine Class of 2015, will provide the event’s keynote address.
Although women fill close to half of all jobs in the U.S. economy, they hold fewer than 25 percent of STEM jobs. AAUW CT is one of 17 nationwide Tech Savvy sites working to improve those numbers. Connecticut’s TechSavvy program is funded in part by AAUW, AAUW CT, NASA CT Space Grant, the Petit Family Foundation and the generosity of individual local donors.
Tech Savvy and similar programs are one way to increase the number of women in the STEM pipeline. Other recommendations, including suggestions for employers, appear in AAUW’s 2015 research report, Solving the Equation: The Variables for Women’s Success in Engineering and Computing.
The American Association of University Women (AAUW) empowers women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research. Our nonpartisan, nonprofit organization has more than 170,000 members and supporters across the United States, as well as 1,000 local branches and more than 800 college and university partners. Since AAUW’s founding in 1881, our members have examined and taken positions on the fundamental issues of the day — educational, social, economic, and political. Learn more and join us at www.aauw.org.