Summer Stock '09 | USF Sarasota-Manatee Girls Stem Summit

School is back in session and it's that time of year we all look back and ask "where did the summer go?" For groups working in STEM encouragement, that sentiment can be especially profound because they were so busy, running great summer programs.

Over the next couple weeks, SciGirls will post a round up of fabulous summer programs we've heard about from across the country. We're calling the feature "Summer Stock." And here's the first installment--news from our friends at University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee.

On June 20, the university, working with the American Association of University Women, held their first Girls STEM Summit. The full-day program featured a keynote by marine scientist and author, Dr. Ellen Prager. Discussion workshops included: Careers in Marine Science (a perennial favorite girl topic!); Research and Research Process; Are You Smarter Than a Fourth-Grade Boy?; New Faces of Engineering; and Math is Cool. After a lunch break, girls participated in hands-on activity sessions and then wound up the day with a salsa dance lesson.

Sounds like fun! And who wouldn't consider a career in STEM after that kind of introduction to the field!

Valerie Connors, who helped organize the event, says feedback from girls has been positive. One young woman wrote: "Thank you so so so so so so so so so so so so much for putting the summit for girls together!! I had a ton of fun, and learned a lot! Now I am seriously considering taking up a career in marine biology, and its all thanks to u!!"

AAUW: Breaking through Barriers in STEM for Women and Girls

The latest statistics provided by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and the National Girls Collaborative Project confirm that women are severely underrepresented in STEM fields. Factors that contribute to this issue are discouragement of girls to participate and demonstrate activities in the science classrooms and a lack of representation of women faculty role models in the STEM disciplines.

Through an AAUW initiative, women student leaders from universities and colleges across the nation have been working to tear down the barriers that girls and young women face in STEM in order to work towards greater equality in these male-dominated fields.

AAUW’s initiative, the Campus Action Project (CAP) gives student leaders and campus faculty the opportunity to design and implement effective programs geared toward girls and young women that enhance campus offerings, promote leadership, and improve academic and career outcomes. Each year, a mission-based topic that the projects will focus on is announced, and AAUW has just announced their 2009-2010 CAP topic: Breaking through Barriers in STEM for Women and Girls.

Beginning in September 2009, university and college CAP teams will have the opportunity to apply for AAUW CAP grants to help develop and implement their project ideas. The objective of these CAPs is to help girls build their confidence and provide them with the role models and resources they need in order to achieve their educational and economic goals in the STEM fields.

Learn more about the AAUW’s CAP initiative.