Bucks County #girlSTEM Conference to Serve Over 800 Students
The #girlSTEM Conference, presented by PECO, will be hosted on May 24, 2018, at Delaware Valley University.
Over 800 girls and 40 volunteer presenters working in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) fields will come together with the hopes of inspiring middle and high school girls to pursue STEM careers. The #girlSTEM Conference is now the largest county-wide educational conference for students in the area.
“There are many girls coming from middle and high school to learn about science, technology, engineering, and math, and as a scientist myself, I couldn’t be more thrilled about it,” said DelVal President Dr. Maria Gallo. “I’m looking forward to participating in #girlSTEM and helping to mentor these young women.”
Girls in grades seven through 10 attend three 45-minute sessions led by women working in STEM. They are able to choose the sessions that are of interest to them to give them the best possible experience. In addition to building STEM awareness, the conference inspires girls to succeed in other areas. In 2017, 95 percent of girls who attended reported feeling motivated to do well in school following #girlSTEM.
“STEM jobs are often male-dominated. Research shows that, while women fill close to half of all jobs in the United States, they hold less than 25 percent of STEM jobs. #girlSTEM seeks to turn these statistics around," says Dr. Lindsey Sides, who organizes the conference on behalf of the Bucks County Intermediate Unit.
Romona Riscoe Benson of PECO, the conference's presenting sponsor, looks forward to delivering the opening remarks.
“At PECO we are committed to supporting education, with a specific focus on STEM programming and initiatives,” said Benson, director of corporate relations at PECO. “Introducing young girls to STEM-related fields can ignite a passion that pushes them to become the future leaders of our industry who drive innovation.”
The conference is led and coordinated by the Bucks County Intermediate Unit #22 in partnership with the United Way of Bucks County and is hosted by DelVal.
The 2018 #girlSTEM Conference is funded by PECO (Presenting Sponsor); Dominion Energy, DOW, and NASC (Gold Sponsors); PPL Electric Utilities, Solvay, Parx Casino (Silver Sponsors); St. Mary Medical Center, Harrisburg University of Science & Technology, BB&T, Comcast, Langan Engineering, ARRIS Inc., Penn Community Bank, UGI Electric Utilities, Mr. D’s Tees, and Wegmans (Bronze Sponsors).