Growing up in Colusa County, a USDA designated nonmetro county with a population of roughly 21,000 people, I was not able to participate in any STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) programs. The first time I heard of STEM was at Boston College, where my roommate was in the school’s science program and part of Women in STEM, an organization fostering the role of women in STEM fields. As a political science major at Boston College, I was not involved in STEM programs and did not take any STEM courses beyond graduation requirements. However, I can’t help but question whether I would have chosen to pursue a career in STEM had I been exposed in middle school or high school.
This week, I read a few news articles on STEM camps and programs for girls in rural American counties. The first was about a free summer camp for middle school girls in rural East Tennessee. Roane State Community College holds the STEM program at two different campuses in Scott and Cumberland Counties. Scott County has roughly 22,000 residents, while Cumberland County has just over 60,000. The camp lasts three weeks and teaches girls activities like coding, virtual reality, and robotics. Girls who previously attended the camp loved it. One camper said that since attending, she now hopes to become a Vet and learned how to make prosthetics for animals with 3D printing.
The second article, in The Bakersfield Californian, highlights the Women’s and Girls Fund grantees in Kern County. The Women’s and Girls’ Fund is part of the Kern Community Foundation, a community nonprofit that awards charitable funds to local organizations to help improve Kern County. The Women’s and Girls’ Fund operates to empower women and girls in the county.
The Women’s and Girls’ Fund awarded $25,000 to two STEM groups. Mighty in STEM Sisters was one of the recipients; the group will focus on communities in Eastern Kern County with “limited enhanced educational opportunities for girls” and expose them to STEM fields like physics, aerospace, and robotics.
The second recipient was the Kern County Superintendent of Schools Educational Services Foundation for its Girls Excelling in Math and Science program (Gems). Gems is a year-long program for fourth and fifth grade Hispanic students and is led by California State University, Bakersfield female STEM majors.
I think these programs are perfect for rural communities and can give girls important opportunities that could change the trajectory of their future. These programs can also help fill the STEM gap for girls and young women. The STEM Gap, according to Forbes, represents the fact that “girls and young women remain less likely to pursue education and careers in” STEM. The Forbes article discusses an interesting Microsoft study, which found that “over 75% of girls who participate in hands-on STEM activities outside the classroom feel a sense of empowerment.” There is no question that this gap is larger in rural parts of the country, where similar hands-on STEM programs are less prevalent than in urban settings. Accordingly, programs like those in rural Eastern Tennessee and Kern County can help young girls feel empowered and encouraged to take part in STEM.
Looking back, I wish that there were STEM programs for young girls in my rural county. I would have certainly taken part and know many of my friends and classmates would have as well. And who knows, maybe I would have pursued an entirely different career path had I been exposed to STEM before attending university. I hope similar programs continue to gain popularity in rural America.
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3 comments:
It was interesting to hear about your experience growing up Taylor! It sounds like these programs are useful for exposing young people to career possibilities as well as boosting their self esteem and problem solving skills. This makes me wonder if programs like 4H and FFA that are already active in many agricultural rural communities could serve a similar purpose or could expand their programming to include more STEM content.
These programs sounds great! This is such an important cause, and one that I hold near and dear to my heart. When I was in kindergarten I was put on a bus twice a week to go to a STEM extension program to give more science to kids at my elementary school. The only other kids in the program, from other schools in the district, were girls. It was programs like this that helped me form close friendships and enjoy learning at school - the camp in Tennessee you wrote about reminds me of this. I think programs like this to help girls in rural places explore STEM are so important.
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