Texas Women and Girls in STEM Summit
Breakout Session 1
10:40 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Indigenous Technologies and Girls of Color in STEM
(Focus: Diversity / All)
We know what our European forefathers did; but what about Cuauhtemoc or La Malinche, and those of ancient Mayan and Aztec cultures? Some of our most profound technologies such as irrigated farming, a solar calendar and the chemistry of chocolate originated from Latin American and indigenous cultures. Yet, when we talk STEM and tech - you hear a lot about Jobs, Gates and Zuckerberg - whereas young Latinas and other students of color aren’t getting the whole story on their own cultural histories and its impact on 21st century advancements in STEM. Latinitas founder Laura Donnelly will lead a panel discussion on cultural narratives in STEM.
Presented by:
Laura Donnelly, Founder, CEO, Latinitas
Sylvia Butanda, Program Director, Latinitas
Perla Delgado, Outreach Director, Center for Mexican American Studies, Mexican American and Latino Studies, UT Austin
Natally Mendez, K-12 STEM Coordinator, Environmental Science Institute, UT Austin
Partnerships at its Best - Collaborating with your Public Library
(Focus: PreK, Elementary, Middle, High School)
Learn how collaboration between Schools and Public libraries can be a successful and winning partnership. Budget cuts have affected everyone across the board. With Makerspaces and STEM programming growing, many don't have the resources to make this happen. Many public libraries are offering STEM programming and have Makerspaces at their library. Why not join forces to provide services and programming for everyone? At Nueces County Public Libraries, staff go out into the community to provide STEM programming at school campuses in Nueces County.
Presented by:
Laura Chapa, Youth Services/Reference Librarian, Nueces County Public Libraries
Crystal Drillen, Nueces County Public Libraries - Keach Family Library
Jacyln Jaquez, Nueces County Public Libraries - Bishop Branch Library
Lori Jones-Pineda, Nueces County Public Libraries - Bishop Branch Library
STEM Girls at Galena Park ISD - Breaking Barriers for Young Ladies - Ready, Set, and Just Go!
(Focus: Middle School)
Stop thinking about what you want to do for STEM & just do it! Come learn how Galena Park ISD is improving STEM education for girls. Several departments came together summer 2017 to start an initiative supporting 6th & 7th grade girls in the area of STEM. We started small, with 50 girls from 5 campuses and identified campus & district level opportunities to offer the girls throughout the year. For this school year, the STEM committee has organized monthly field trips to places such as Microsoft, Apple, local universities and our own high school stem classes to better equip the girls with the gifts a STEM education can bring them. Come learn our process, how we fund it, the challenges, successes, and next steps for our program!
Presented by:
Elvira Salazar Salazar, Program Director of Secondary Science & Health, Galena Park ISD
Jason Bollich, Senior Director of Secondary Curriculum & Instruction, Galena Park ISD
Michelle Young, Program Director of Technology, Galena Park ISD
Strategies to Outperform National Trends in Recruitment of Women in Engineering
(Focus: College)
The Cockrell School of Engineering at UT Austin boasts an overall undergraduate student enrollment of 28% women, exceeding the national average of 22%. In addition, the Cockrell School exceeds national averages for enrollment and graduation rates of women in nearly every major. Learn best practices in recruitment of women into engineering in college, specifically into majors such as aerospace engineering and mechanical engineering where they are underrepresented to a larger extent. Explore research-based best practices in messaging, strategies to impact recruitment of diverse students, and the role of targeted on-campus and community events.
Presented by:
Gina Higby, Senior Program Coordinator, Women in Engineering Program, UT Austin
Gillian Hagamen, Student Program Coordinator, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UT Austin
Sarah Kitten, Academic Advising Coordinator, Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, UT Austin