CETA Student Ambassadors Visit the University of Hartford Magnet School

CETA Celebrates 2017 Engineers Week:

http://www.discovere.org/our-programs/engineers-week

Girl Day: http://www.discovere.org/our-programs/girl-day

 

 

Engineer’s week kicked off on Monday, 2/20/17, with cake and balloons in the CETA Student Lounge and was followed by a visit to the University of Hartford Magnet School on Thursday, 2/23/17, to celebrate and build awareness of Girl Day.

DiscoverE announced Girl Day as “a worldwide campaign to introduce girls to the fascinating world of engineering. Thousands of people--engineers, teachers and others--act as Role Models and educate girls about how engineers change our world. This simple act has turned many girls on to engineering & technology careers”.

In the early 1980s only “5.8% of engineers in the U.S. were women”. Studies have proven that exposing more women to engineering have improved those numbers. Since 2012, the statistics have moved to 20% of engineering students in the U.S are women (Crawford 2012).  A select group of CETA Student Ambassadors chose to do their part in encouraging women in STEM by visiting the University of Hartford Magnet School to honor Girl Day. Sixty-five second graders enjoyed a presentation of Women Engineers in History followed by the Marshmallow Challenge. 

Current CETA Student Ambassadors: Jackie Maynard, Heather Volkens, Kareema Shell, Lydia Metcalf and Andrea Hoyt offered up their time to share their experiences as women in STEM. They began the visit with a presentation honoring successful women in engineering and science.

They challenged the social stereotypes that link “masculinity to technology” by urging the three Second grade classes to begin exploring science, technology, engineering and math early on, no matter your gender (Crawford 2012).

 

All in all, the visit was an effective way for our CETA students to share the passion they have for engineering and to encourage the youth of today to be the engineers of tomorrow. These visits help elementary students discover the world of engineering and improve the inclusiveness of women in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).

Resources:

"DiscoverE." DiscoverE. N.p., 06 Jan. 2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2017. <http://www.discovere.org/our-programs/girl-day>.

 

Crawford, Mark. “Engineering Still Needs More Women.” ASME.org. ASME.org, Sept. 2012. Web.

27 Feb. 2017.<https://www.asme.org/career-education/articles/undergraduate-students/engineering-still-needs-more-women>.