State College Association Of University Women Inc

ADVANCES EQUITY FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS THROUGH ADVOCACY, EDUCATION, AND RESEARCH.

CONTRIBUTIONS/GRANTS: GRANTS GIVEN TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY AND TO AAUW NATIONALS.

SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING MATH (STEM) PROGRAMS INCLUDE: GIRLS LOVE SCIENCE (GALS): DURING THE GALS PROGRAM, MIDDLE SCHOOL AGED GIRLS IN THE BELLEFONTE AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT EXPLORED STEM FIELDS TOGETHER IN THEIR CLASSROOM, THROUGH VIRTUAL SITE VISITS ARRANGED BY DISCOVERY SPACE STAFF. TOPICS INCLUDED: ARCHAEOLOGY, EVOLUTIONARY GENETICS, METEOROLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY. PARTICIPANTS MET MANY DIFFERENT FEMALE STEM PROFESSIONALS AND LEARNED MORE ABOUT THEIR WORK THROUGH PAIRED HANDS-ON EXPERIMENTS AND DEMONSTRATIONS DONE IN THEIR CLASSROOM DURING THE VIRTUAL PROGRAM.MAKERSPACE FOR GIRLS: OFTEN, HIGH SCHOOL AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS NEED TO WORK TO EARN MONEY; AND, THEY NEED RELEVANT EXPERIENCE FOR A RESUME. WHEN THESE TWO CAN BE COMBINED, IT IS A REAL WIN FOR THE STUDENT ESPECIALLY WHEN THE STUDENT IS FEMALE. THESE FUNDS SUPPORTED HOURLY WORK FOR THREE INTERNS WHO DESIGNED AND LED ACTIVITIES WITH CHILDREN AND ASSISTED DISCOVERY SPACE EDUCATORS IN STEM PROGRAMS.VOICES ANNUAL CONFERENCE: VOICES IS A NETWORKING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE HOSTED ANNUALLY BY THE STATE COLLEGE CHAPTER OF GRADUATE WOMEN IN SCIENCE (GWIS) FOR STUDENTS, POSTDOCS, FACULTY, AND PROFESSIONALS IN THE SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS (STEM) FIELDS. THE VOICES CONFERENCE IS GEARED TOWARD PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT. IT OFFERS THE DISTINCT ADVANTAGE OF BRINGING TOGETHER PEOPLE FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS TO SHARE PRACTICAL IDEAS, SUCCESSES, AND STRUGGLES BASED ON THEIR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES AND, THIS YEAR, TO BECOME INSPIRED TO TAKE ACTION.ENVISION: STEM CAREER DAY FOR YOUNG WOMEN: PARTICIPANTS ENGAGED WITH KEYNOTE SPEAKERS, YASHA DUGGAL AND LATISHA FRANKLIN, WHO TALKED ABOUT THEIR INSPIRING JOURNEYS INTO SCIENCE AND ANSWERED QUESTIONS FOR THE YOUNG WOMEN. PARTICIPANTS ATTENDED THREE, HANDS-ON, SCIENCE WORKSHOPS THAT FEATURED DIVERSE TOPICS SUCH AS WILD-LIFE CONSERVATION, VIROLOGY, 3-D PRINTING, ASTRONOMY, NEUROLOGY, AND ARCHEOLOGY TO NAME A FEW. THESE WORKSHOPS WERE DESIGNED AND CONDUCTED BY PENN STATE FACULTY, STUDENTS, AND STAFF, WHO EAGERLY SHARED THEIR RESEARCH AND CAREER INSIGHTS. THROUGHOUT THE DAY-LONG EVENT AT THE UNIVERSITY PARK CAMPUS, ATTENDEES NETWORKED WITH PROFESSIONAL SCIENTISTS, BONDED WITH COLLEGE AGED MENTORS, AND ENJOYED LUNCH AND GROUP ACTIVITIES THAT INCLUDED A FUN PHOTO BOOTH.STEMPOWERED GIRLS: STEMPOWERED IS OUR UNIQUELY DESIGNED PROGRAM TO IMMERSE 4TH, 5TH AND 6TH GRADES IN THINKING ABOUT AND TRYING OUT A VARIETY OF ELEMENTS FROM STEM CAREERS THEY MAY NOT LEARN ABOUT IN SCHOOL. THIS YEAR, THE PROGRAMS WERE ENTIRELY VIRTUAL. EACH THREE-DAY PROGRAM INCLUDES AN INTRODUCTORY SESSION ABOUT THE CAREER, RELEVANT VOCABULARY AND SOME INFORMATION ABOUT THE STEM PROFESSIONAL THEY WILL MEET. THE SECOND DAY INVOLVES MEETING THE STEM PROFESSIONAL, VIRTUALLY VISITING THEIR LAB OR PLACE OF WORK, AND PARTICIPATING IN EXPERIMENTS AND ACTIVITIES THAT ARE CLOSELY TAILORED TO WHAT "A DAY IN THE LIFE" ENTAILS FOR THE PROFESSIONAL. THE THIRD DAY CONTINUES THE EXPERIMENTS AND ACTIVITIES AND CLOSES WITH TIME FOR THE PARTICIPANTS TO REFLECT ON THEIR INTEREST IN SUCH A CAREER. "COULD YOU SEE YOURSELF DOING THIS ONE DAY?" SIMPLY THE SUGGESTION THAT THEY CAN BE THAT ONE DAY HAS POWER FOR YOUNG LEARNERS. EACH SESSION IS 3 AFTERNOONS (MON-WED) OF 1.5HR AFTERSCHOOL ACTIVITIES/VIRTUAL HOST VISIT. 10-14 KIDS PER SESSION.SUMMER SCIENCE CAMP: DISCOVERY SPACE HOSTED 14 UNIQUE STEM-THEMED, WEEK-LONG SUMMER CAMPS IN PERSON AND HAD A BLAST! THE AAUW STATE COLLEGE BRANCH FUNDS HELPED TO SUPPORT THE COST OF MATERIALS AND HANDS-ON EQUIPMENT USED DURING THE SUMMER.STEM GRANT OFF SET: MICHELE APPLIED FOR AND SUCCESSFULLY RECEIVED $500 FROM THE ENGINE STEM ECOSYSTEM OF CENTRAL PA TO HOST A ROBOTICS EVENT AT THE RIVET FREE TO THE COMMUNITY. THE EVENT WAS A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN AAUW STATE COLLEGE BRANCH, DISCOVERY SPACE AND THE RIVET, REMAKE LEARNING DAYS OF PA, AND THE LOCAL 4H ROBOTICS CLUB. IN TOTAL, 344 COMMUNITY MEMBERS ATTENDED THE MOSTLY-OUTDOOR EVENT WHERE THEY COULD SEE ROBOT DEMONSTRATIONS AND TRY VARIOUS HANDS-ON ROBOTS. A MINI BATTLE BOT STATION WAS SET UP WHERE PARTICIPANTS COULD BRING THEIR ROBOTS TO BATTLE FOR POINTS. THE EVENT SPECIFICALLY HAD A FOCUS ON FEMALES IN ROBOTICS AND THE WAYS IN WHICH MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOLERS COULD GET INVOLVED IF THEY WERE INTERESTED.OTHER PROGRAMS INCLUDE: CHALLENGING SCIENCE INVESTIGATIONS (CSI) AND GIRLS ACTIVE IN MATH, ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE (GAMES) DESIGNED TO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SCHOOL-AGE GIRLS IN SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES TO WORK COOPERATIVELY ON PROJECTS IN SCIENCE.

OFFICERS/COMMITTEES: LENDING GENERAL SUPPORT FOR ON-GOING PROGRAMS AND EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH VARIOUS EVENTS, INCLUDING PRINTING AND MEETINGS.