Mary Margaret Small, Coordinator of the North Country STEM Network (left), & civil engineering student Lauren Hall attend the STEAM Girls Collaborative Kick-Off.
The Conference gathered representatives from the state of New York to discuss how to establish new resources and collaborations that will bring girls into STEM careers. The conference and collaborative is open to all organizations and individuals from school administrators and engineers to educators and University staff.
Two of the conference’s representatives include Mary Margaret Small, Coordinator of the North Country STEM Network and civil engineering student Lauren Hall. The two will work on a panel that will discuss what women enjoy about their STEM careers and educations.
"If we look at where jobs of the future are that will allow an individual to have a middle class or upper-middle class existence, they're in the STEM disciplines,” said Small. “I think it's important to do everything we can to encourage our young women to prepare themselves to enter the work world."
Small added that research often shows that women wish to work in fields that help humanity. Unfortunately, these potential students don’t see STEM disciplines as a method to improve lives. Therefore to be more inclusive, the perception of engineering and STEM must change. Through the use of summer camps and weekend activities, these girls will be able to experience and change their perception of STEM.
"The goal of engineering is to solve the problems of humanity. We need to make that connection for girls,” Small said. “If we're not using the skills and talents of that population, we're not serving humanity as a whole."
To further extend STEM to women, Clarkson University and the NY STEAM Girls Collaborative will provide grants through local STEM projects.
Summary Clarkson University.