Forty middle and high school girls and their parents attended Michigan’s Tech’s first Parent-Daughter Engineering Exploration Day on February 23. The event was organized by the Michigan Tech Center for Science & Environmental Outreach and funded by the College of Engineering, Department of Engineering
Fundamentals, and Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the event engaged girls in grades 7-11 and their parents in learning about the exciting field of engineering. A dozen young women engineering students from the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) shared their experiences and enthusiasm for their chosen career path. In addition, the young women engineering students led a variety of fun activities —Sparkling Water, Let’s Communicate, Team Up, Give Me A Hand, Brain Saver, and Bright Ideas that showed how engineering is used to clean wastewater, provide prosthetic limbs and safety equipment, and design ways to improve our quality of life.
Kay LaFond explains, “We want to reach out to girls when they are thinking about what they want to do. It’s about creativity and making a difference.”
“There are lots of jobs in engineering,” observes Jen Fuller. “Many companies are looking for women engineers to diversify their workforce. Engineering degrees are useful in many related field—marketing, research, sales, etc.”
Upper Michigan Source News Story: What does it take to be an engineer?
