Girls learn about science, math career choices

BY JESSICA LYONS

Monday, December 21, 2009 5:45 PM EST

More than 500 girls from high schools in New York City and Long Island were able to learn about careers in science, technology, engineering and math during DeVry University’s annual HerWorld event.

This year’s event, held on December 11, marked the 12th year of the program.

Students from nine Queens schools participated in HerWorld. They were Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical Education High School, Grover Cleveland, Queens Vocational High School, Robert F. Kennedy, Queens High School of Teaching, Robert F. Kennedy Community High School, Academy of Finance & Enterprise, Humanities and the Art Magnet School and August Martin High School.

“As Americans in the workforce become increasingly proactive about career decisions, younger generations are following suit,” said DeVry University President Dave Pauldine. “Programs such as HerWorld give young women the additional support they need to pursue their educational and career goals.”

Through HerWorld, the students are able to participate in workshops that are educational, along with being designed to building their confidence. They are also able to hear from female leaders about their own careers and how they were able to achieve their own goals.

During the recently held event, which took place at the Hilton New York in Manhattan, presentations were made by Sandra D. Rice, the vice president of the Emma L. Bowen Foundation; Debra Kral, the manager of NASA’s vehicle launch division; Monifa White, the educational advisor of DeVry College of New York; Natalie Sommers, chair of electronic programs of DeVry College of New York; and Lindsay Lindstrom, the developer evangelist of the Microsoft Corporation.

“It’s important for parents, school administrators and mentors to instill confidence in girls at a young age, since unfortunately the belief that men are better suited for certain careers still exists, even if it’s not the mainstream sentiment,” Kral said. “While the number of women in my field is growing, we are still under-represented when compared to our male colleagues and I’d like to see those figures change with this next generation of women.”

The students also participated in a “Build It! Workshop,” where they worked as teams to build robots.