Young Women in STEM Day
Over one-hundred (100) area seventh and eighth grade girls received encouragement to consider careers in mathematics, science, engineering and technology at the 2nd Annual Young Women in STEM Day held at BGSU/Firelands College on November 18, 2011.
Kelly Cusack (BGSU/Firelands College Educational Outreach Assistant Director) commented, “Access to these [STEM] professionals is at an all time high for women. However, some female students are reluctant to pursue careers in these fields because; in the past they have been dominated by men. The purpose of this event is to get students excited about their abilities and help them realize their possibilities.”
The event achieved that end as students from Sandusky City Schools, Perkins Local Schools, Danbury Local Schools, Sandusky Central Catholic and Willard City Schools worked their way through four hands-on STEM centers. The learning centers focused on robotics, aerodynamics, chemistry and mathematics principles. Kelly Cusack continued, “We designed the day to be both educational and fun. We wanted the girls to learn various STEM fields and then get them involved in solving “real world” problems.” During the course of the day the students designed and tested rockets, programmed robots to carry out tasks, anticipated and documented chemical reactions and a whole lot more. The presentations and activities at each of the learning centers were developed and conducted by BGSU faculty, NASA officials and staff from the Imagination Station (Toledo, Ohio).
A highlight of Young Women in STEM was an address from Gail Bossert Klink, an award winning teacher and author, and former member of NASA’s astronaut program. Ms. Klink shared her life experiences with the students and told them, “Each of you has the potential to succeed in life, and each of you has the ability to achieve your dreams. But, you have to be willing to work hard, to apply yourself and to ignore life’s distractions.” She outlined for the girls a “strategy for achieving your dreams”. The strategy included: working hard in school, having goals, learning from mistakes, having patience and self-discipline, and being persistent and positive.
The day will long be remembered by the participants. To make sure of that, each participant received a group photograph from Quayle Photography, courtesy of North Point Educational Service Center. Bill Lally (North Point Superintendent) shared, “Each student in attendance will have good and bad days between now and the time they graduate from college. When the bad days happen, we want them to look at the photograph and remind themselves that tomorrow is another day, full of opportunities to achieve their dreams.”
This is the second year North Point Educational Service Center has worked with BGSU/Firelands College to host Young Women in STEM. Bill Lally continued, “I want to thank Kelly Cusack and her committee for the work they did in organizing this year’s event. It is a great opportunity for the students, one that they will remember and hopefully take to heart as they make career choices. Secondly, I want to thank Bowling Green State University and Firelands College. Not only are they great institutions of learning, they are committed partners to the communities they serve. North Point takes great pride in working with these partners and in hosting programs that have a positive impact upon our region.”
