CT Girls To Attend First Girls & STEM Expo at MCC

Manchester- On Friday, April 30th, 100 seventh grade girls from middle schools in East Hartford, Ellington, Manchester, Mansfield, South Windsor, and Wethersfield will participate in hands-on, science-related workshops at the Girls & STEM Expo at Manchester Community College. The upcoming Expo is the first collaboration between CWEALF and MCC.

Girls & STEM Expos are a series of one-day workshops designed to promote middle school girls’ interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and careers. Since 2003, the Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund
(CWEALF) has coordinated Girls & STEM workshops each year in at least four colleges in Connecticut. Each location is chosen to attract a demographically diverse group of students and educators, including teachers and guidance counselors.

Each one-day Expo consists of workshops and team-building exercises led by women engaged in STEM careers. CWEALF makes every effort to include women of diverse ages, ethnicities, backgrounds and careers as presenters. The workshops are interactive and present concrete applications of scientific methods and technology; introduce the students to role models and potential mentors; and foster girls’ sense of participating in a peer group of future workers in STEM careers.

Devora Epstein, School Counselor at Carmen Arace Middle School, has brought her students to past Girls & STEM Expos. She says, “Our school experiences from the day we enter pre-school or kindergarten shape our adult lives. But the special moments, a field trip to the fire station, a handshake from the mayor, and enrichment opportunities like the Girls & STEM Expos expose us to a world outside of school walls and spark sometimes dormant aspirations. Our country can’t afford to waste the talents and skills that women can contribute. Our future physicians, scientists, engineers, astronauts and teachers are sitting in classrooms today and more than 50% of them are girls!”

This Expo is funded by a $2 million U.S. DOL grant awarded to Connecticut’s Community Colleges, including Three Rivers, to expand their work in providing students with the education and skills needed to enter and advance in careers in growing fields of employment in Connecticut. Careers in industries such as precision manufacturing and aerospace components manufacturing are in need of skilled employees to replace large numbers of retiring workers and to keep Connecticut competitive. According to the Employment and Training Administration of the USDOL, the creation of one manufacturing position creates 1.88 additional jobs in Connecticut.

Encouraging the interest of students in science, math and technology while they are in middle school can lead them to take high school courses that will support their success in the college-level work needed to gain entry to 21st century careers. CWEALF is a collaborator on the Community Colleges’ SMART and SOAR grants and is directing the Expo initiative to assist schools in reaching a diverse population of women who need to gain the education and skills needed to enter college and compete in the job market. Scholarships, paid internships and a learner-centered, skill-building curriculum at the Community Colleges will support student success, persistence, and advancement through the levels of the program. Mentors will work closely with students and industry partners involved in the initiative to provide on-the-job oversight and continuing education to reinforce classroom lessons for students involved in the program.

The Manchester Expo will offer student workshops like: Geocaching: Treasure Hunting with Technology, Creative CAD, What’s in a Wiki? and Break that Code!. The Expo will also offer two workshop for teachers one titled Computer Science Unplugged! and the other about web page design.

To date CWEALF has served 2,622 middle school girls and 333 teachers, guidance counselors, and parents. CWEALF continues to implement the Expos and try to reach more girls each year. CWEALF is currently planning 2010 Expos at Gateway Community College, Mitchell College, Saint Joseph College, and Asnuntuck Community College.