14 Auburn girls win scholarships to STEM Camp

Fourteen Auburn middle-school girls are going to college for one week this summer to study Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Recruited and fully funded by the Auburn Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), they have the opportunity to live in a dorm at UC Davis or UC Santa Cruz, or to attend a virtual camp. All girls will participate in workshops, handle scientific materials and interact with scores of professional women who are leaders in STEM fields. Attending STEM Camp at UC Davis this week through July 19 are Laila Blackwood (Loomis Grammar School), Roan Dela Cruz (Colfax), Evelyn Lease (Bowman), Keira Mccabe (Foresthill), Evie Sippel (Weimar Hills) and Jozelyn Tejeda (Foresthill). Girls at UC Santa Cruz this week are Mia Luchetti and Olivia Picket of Placer Elementary, Bella Reci (EV Cain) and Makenna Rogas (Newcastle Elementary Charter). Girls attending Virtual Camp during the week of July 21-25 are Arabella Cocchio (Pathways Charter iLearning Academy), Charolotte Dickerson (EV Cain), Sydney Mason (Loomis Grammar) and Olivia Robertson (Weimar Hills). Tech Trek is a STEM enrichment program, started in 1998 in California. It offers rising eighth-grade girls a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore STEM topics with women role models and to possibly envision a future for themselves in it. Tech Trek is now a nationwide program, organized through AAUW. There are nine camps in California this year, plus 10 camps in other states. For more than 25 years, Tech Trek has opened the eyes of more than 15,000 girls to new worlds and the camaraderie of likeminded campers interested in STEM. The Tech Trek program offers residential camps on college campuses and virtual camps held online. Residential participants live the life of a college student for a week, complete with dorm and classrooms and dining halls. Virtual camp participants enjoy the convenience of participating from home. Both programs feature inspiring interactions with women role models from STEM fields, hands-on workshops, group projects, field trips, demonstrations and energizing team-building fun. Activities may include building balloon-powered race cars, learning CSI-type forensics or crafting wearable tech with moveable parts. The camps are staffed by female AAUW members and community volunteers who are committed to the mission of helping girls navigate an often-challenging path to STEM studies and careers. AAUW branch members visit middle schools in the fall of every school year to work with science and math teachers to recruit candidates. The application process is thorough, and the goal is to select promising students who might not otherwise get such an opportunity. The partnership between principals, teachers, parents and recruiters is crucial. AAUW is a nonpartisan nonprofit that was launched in 1881 to encourage women to get a college education and fight for women's suffrage. Once women achieved the vote, branches increased fundraising for scholarships and focused their public policy work on issues that affect women and families. Today, AAUW has more than 170,000 members and 1,000 local branches. Visit Tech Trek at aauw-ca.org/tech-trek.