February 2013 – SMU
Society of Women Engineers Launches Local Campaign to Get Girls Involved in Engineering in Dallas.
The February 2013 Conference during the Society of Women Engineers Region C Conference hosted by SMU invited 50 high school girls for career exploration & networking coaching!
Contact: Jennifer Vilbig, Society of Women Engineers, Dallas Section President
jennifer.vilbig@swe.org
(February 2, 2013) — The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) today held another Design Your World – STEM Conference for girls. The event took place at the Dallas Sheraton during the Society of Women Engineers Region C Conference and is designed to encourage young women to become more interested in careers in engineering and technology.
The Design Your World event series honors the achievements of women and girls as they develop and discover the future through technology with events around the metroplex which take place throughout the year.
The February 2013 Design Your World – STEM Career Conference invited fifty high school students to participate in hands-on activities, were coached how to be brave in networking events as well as listen to engaging speakers about their careers in engineering. Activities included learning about polymers and mixing their own epoxy keychain charm as well as creating circuits with switches, resistors & different types of light bulbs. Sponsors of the conference were ExxonMobil and Capital One.
“We are thrilled to be a part of such an important movement: American culture has traditionally misled young girls to believe that they cannot excel in high-technology professions, and as a result, they often hold negative perceptions of engineering careers” said Jennifer Vilbig, President of the Dallas Society of Women Engineers. “We look forward to helping to change that perception in Dallas as well as throughout the metroplex.”
The need for the United States to build a new generation of leaders proficient in engineering and technology is at the top of the nation’s agenda. While encouraging all young people to pursue careers in related fields is critical, this initiative has even greater significance among the nation’s young women. Approximately 10 percent of American engineers today are women and the number of women entering colleges of engineering is declining.
In order to encourage young women across the metroplex to get involved in engineering and technology, the Society of Women Engineers will be hosting more Design Your World Conferences in the future!
About Design Your World
The Design Your World Conference series, launched in 2012, is a collaboration among several non-profit organizations including the Society of Women Engineers, Women in Technology International and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Featuring three events over the past year, we anticipate hosting another conference in the Fall of 2013. To stay up to date, visit our website designyourworld.org/.
About SWE
The Society of Women Engineers (SWE), founded in 1950, is a not-for-profit educational and service organization. SWE is the driving force that establishes engineering as a highly desirable career aspiration for women. SWE empowers women to succeed and advance in those aspirations and be recognized for their life-changing contributions and achievements as engineers and leaders.
October 2013 – SMU
Early on Saturday, October 19, 2013 110 girls (4th and 5th graders) and 45 adults with over 75 volunteers converged on the SMU campus for a day of fun. Little did they know that they would also learn a lot about STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math).
The adult break-out session (first ever for Dallas SWE) was for parents and educators to learn a bit more about how to encourage their daughters to pursue a STEM career. The adults heard a panel of speakers in the morning, and a chance to visit any of the ongoing activities the girls were attending, and during the afternoon played with a hands-on activity to learn and take home.
Twenty girls attended a variety of sessions. Twenty girls spent the day in Fasion Camp learning about Lily Pad Arduino processors and fashioning blinking light headbants. The remainder of the girls each participated in three events:
- Up, Up and Away – building rockets using the basics of electrical circuits with buzzers and lights
- Marshmallow Towers that reached the ceiling
- Cosmetics and Lotions
- Principles of Polymers – creating scented sparkling charms
- Creating a Lollipop Express with mechanical cars and tours.
The women of Dallas SWE and SMU SWE hosted the event and made all the magic happen. The bright, sunny day ended too early for many of the girls and parents. The fun, the learning, the experiences, and the enthusiasm were contagious. When surveyed, 96% of parents responded that they would attend an event again, and 98% of parents responded that they would recommend the event to others. The girls responded 82% and 88% to the same questions, and 86% said that they enjoyed the fact that this was an event just for girls.
The following quotes from the girls sum up the day’s success:
- “I wanted to stay all night!”
- “I had soooo much fun.”
- “Next time make it longer.”
- “Thank you for doing this, hope I can come again soon!”
The next Design Your World event is scheduled for March 29, 2014! Stay tuned to the Design Your World site for updates, or add your email address to their mailing list to get information sent directly to you.
2013 Sponsors
Thanks to our February and October 2013 event sponsors!
PLATINUM SPONSORS ($5,000+)
GOLD SPONSORS ($2,500 – $4,999)
SILVER SPONSORS ($1,000-$2,499)
